


We All Have Our Downfalls

by OnceUponASuper



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Childhood Trauma, Endgame Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, F/F, Family Drama, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Mental Anguish, Minor Character Death, Original Character(s), Slow Burn Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-11
Updated: 2019-04-01
Packaged: 2019-10-08 07:02:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 89,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17381909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnceUponASuper/pseuds/OnceUponASuper
Summary: When a teenager falls from the sky in National City the Danvers sisters welcome a new member of the family. What they didn't realise was the baggage that came with it and the role that Lena Luthor would play in their new lives.(Season 2 AU Timeline)





	1. Chapter 1 - Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone, this is my first work here, still trying to get the hang of this and the tagging system etc.! I've also been posting this story elsewhere but thought I would be able to gain more feedback on how to improve my writing, character development and maybe be given some fresh ideas from multiple sources. Also not gonna lie, the Supergirl fandom is a wayyyy bigger on this site so I think I've been posting in the wrong place. Basically, if anyone sees this story elsewhere I promise they are both mine! 
> 
> An important thing to note is I do think my first four chapters suck so if you think so too, please just view them as context and go with chapter five onwards, there's a whole year of difference between those chapters! Lastly, it's very slow-burn Supercorp as only in my last chapter written (chapter 7) did I realise I wanted to pursue that path, so please do hold on, it will happen!

"Supergirl, a pilot just reported seeing a girl falling through the sky just above the city." Alex watched the various monitors in the DEO as she radioed Kara.  
Kara hovered in the sky, scanning above her to try and spot the girl, "Skydiving gone wrong?"  
"Here's the weird thing, the pilot was way above the normal skydiving height and you can't skydive above the city."  
Kara frowned, "Definitely weird." A few moments later Kara spotted the falling figure, the girl looked unconscious and her limp body proceeded to plummet through the sky. "I see her!" Kara quickly flew to the girl, but the girl was already too close to a building. Kara raced as fast as she could but the girl’s body slammed into the top of the L-Corp tower. “I didn’t make it in time, she hit L-Corp…”

* * *

 Kara’s eyes started to tear up as she landed on the roof and started moving towards the girl. Kara gasped audibly as she took in the sight of the girl’s body lying in a small crater. A head injury ran blood down the girl's face before it dropped below, the girl was covered in blood everywhere really. Fresh blood was oozing from wounds on the girl's stomach and chest and with a quick scan Kara could see numerous broken ribs and a broken collarbone, along with what looked like a broken spine, everything looked broken. It didn’t look like the girl was still alive. But then Kara swore she saw a flutter in the girl’s heart. She watched with her X-ray vision as slowly but surely the girl’s heart started to beat regularly again. The girl gasped for air as she suddenly regained consciousness.

Kara dropped to her knees, next to the girl’s head. The girl looked up at her, gasping for air as blood sprayed from her mouth.  
“I’m here! I can help.”  
The girl grabbed Kara’s arm, so tightly that if Kara weren’t invulnerable it would have definitely hurt. The girl tried to speak but she only managed to splutter and grimace.  
Kara touched a hand to her earpiece, “She’s alive! I need a medevac here, I can’t move her, her back is broken. I don’t want to do more damage.”  
Alex’s voice buzzed through her ear, “We’re on our way.”  
The girl started to mutter, “I- I..ener…”  
Kara tried her best to understand what was being said when the door to the roof burst open.  
Lena’s security team along with Lena herself walked out onto the roof, Lena rushing over when she saw them, “Supergirl!”  
Kara’s face remained stoic as Lena rushed over, “Can you help?”

Lena stopped as she reached the two, taking in the sight, “What happened?!”  
The girl looked up at Lena before dropping her head back against the roof, still trying to spit the blood pooling her mouth out.  
“We can’t move her, she’s got a broken back. Help is coming.”  
“Well, we can’t let her choke on her own blood. We can roll her, I’ll hold her head steady and you can roll her onto her side.”  
Kara looked up at Lena, “Are you sure?”  
“I’m sure. We just have to do it slowly.” Lena moved so that she was kneeling above the girl’s head, placing her hands gently on either side of the girl’s face.  
The girl continued to splutter as she looked up at Lena, locking her eyes with Lena.  
Lena was taken aback by just how blue they were, she’d never seen anyone’s so brightly blue, perhaps it was the blood covering the girl’s face that made them pop so much. Lena broke her gaze with the girl, looking at Supergirl, “On the count of three. 1…2…3!”

Both Lena and Kara worked in sync to roll the girl on her side, the girl spluttering as she could finally clear her mouth of blood.  
Not too much longer a DEO helicopter appeared, Alex stepped out of the helicopter as it landed on the roof of L-Corp. “We can take it from here Supergirl.” Alex saw Lena and nodded at her, “Ms. Luthor.”  
The DEO med team worked quickly and efficiently, transferring the girl to a stretcher and loaded her back into the helicopter before Alex got back on board, leaving Kara and Lena on the roof.  
“Thanks for your help Ms. Luthor.”  
Lena looked down at her bloodied hands, “It was the least I could do.”  
Kara smiled at her, “You should go get yourself cleaned up, thank you again though.” With that Kara leaped into the air and sped off after the DEO helicopter.  
Lena watched her go before taking a deep breath and turning to go back downstairs.

* * *

It was a bit touch and go for a while but soon the medical team at the DEO had the girl stable. Kara was standing outside the room with her arms loosely crossed waiting for Alex to come out. A few moments later she did and she let out a sigh. "She's going to be okay."  
Kara gave Alex a smile before turning back to the doorway, looking at the girl, "Do we know who she is yet?"  
Alex shrugged, "We ran a facial recognition and we got a match. Only when we checked out a bit further the match we made was apparently someone else. They are identical though, approximate same age, same height, eye colour, almost everything. It's weird."  
"Could she be a clone?"  
"Possibly but it doesn't make any sense still, why was she falling from the sky thousands of feet up?"  
Kara frowned and twisted her mouth in annoyance, "I guess we have to wait till she wakes up."  
Alex sighed again and held her tablet to her chest and stared at the girl, "I guess so."  
Kara gave Alex a squeeze on the shoulder, “I should go see if I can find out any more. I’ll be back soon.”  
Alex nodded, “Good idea. Stay safe.”  
Kara smirked as she walked to the door, “I’m Supergirl. What else do you expect?”

* * *

 After the night off, Alex was back at work, working hard to figure out the enigma that was the girl. Alex looked over her lying on the bed in front of her. Her hair was dark brown; from memory of checking the girl's pupil response, her eyes were a bright blue. Her figure was incredibly lean, but hard muscle was everywhere, barely any body fat. Her physique was almost unnatural especially for a girl so young. Alex guessed the girl couldn't have been more than 17 years old, probably less. It was so wrong to see a teenager so badly hurt, it weighed heavily on Alex's mind. Just who, or what, had tried to kill this girl? Kara had gone back to scan the city, to see if there was any evidence of anyone who could have done it. But Kara had turned up nothing, leaving all of them guessing as to how the girl had ended up falling from the sky.  
Alex was still pondering all these things when Kara walked up beside her.   
"Is she okay?" Kara placed a hand around Alex's waist, pulling her close.  
Alex sighed, "She's critical still but stable. We just have to wait for now."  
Kara nodded in acknowledgment and looked the girl over before reaching a hand out to gently hold the girl's hand, "Keep fighting. We've got you."  
Kara could have sworn she felt the girl's hand twitch in response.

* * *

She _was dreaming, or more remembering, the fateful moments before the planet exploded. She could feel them all. Each one linked to each other, connected by the surge of energy flowing from the planet. It was a sight to behold, pure energy being drained from every source around the globe. It was beautiful yet horrific all at once. For them, it felt incredible, but at the same time, it was sheer agony. Their bodies were resisting the overload of raw power. Soldiers fired on them from below, pummelling them with bullets. However, the pain didn't compare to the agony they were already in. Over and over another plummeted to the ground, their bodies unable to cope much longer. It only increased the strain on those remaining. Eventually, the soldiers below them dropped to the ground, their lives being stolen from them by those above. By that stage, there was almost nothing left to take. Their bodies had been altered to drain the earth’s resources one by one. Leaving human lives till last, with the sheer purpose of making their world suffer till the end, every memory on earth flooded their minds collectively._

 _There were less than a hundred of them left in the sky when it finally happened. A horrific crunching sound spread out in every direction around the globe. And then it was finished. With nothing left to take they started to steal from each other, lives once again flashing before their eyes. She was one of the few_ left _when the earth shattered into a million pieces, she was young; that was why. She was more unpredictable than those older than her. Unpredictable meant the energy pummelling her body could more easily transform itself and be expelled. While it was nice to be young_ in _that moment, she wished she were dead. She would have welcomed it, she thought it would take her anyway. A giant piece of earth was rocketing in her direction. It was_ metres _away, she was reliving the moment all over again before she awoke._

* * *

 "Agent Danvers, we've just had to replace the equipment in the girl's room for the third time."  
Alex frowned and turned to face them, "What? Seriously? Our equipment was fully operational beforehand, correct?"  
The other agent nodded, "Yes ma'am."  
Alex shook her head and moved to look at her laptop screen, searching for answers.  
Kara came up next to her, having just returned from stopping an armed robbery, "Any updates?"  
Alex glanced back at Kara before looking back at her laptop, "No not yet I'm just trying to figure out...huh...weird."  
Kara frowned in confusion, "What?"  
Alex pointed to her screen, "We're having an energy drainage in and around the areas surrounding the girl."  
"Are you saying they're related to each other or just that they happen to be in the same area? I mean is it like what happened with Mon-El?"  
"I'm not sure, I should go back and check on her."  
"I'll come with you then."  
"And so shall I." J’onn walked up to the two, "I'm assuming Agent Danvers, you have also just become aware of the energy depletion around the girl?"  
Alex nodded, "Yes, it's rather strange. I can't tell what it could be from."

The trio walked to the girl's room before they suddenly realized the girl was awake.  
The girl was sat upright, clutching her stomach and gasping for breath.  
Alex quickly rushed to her side and placed an oxygen mask over the girl's face, "Breathe you're okay."  
The girl took deep breaths and looked around wide-eyed, "Where am I?"  
"That's classified." J’onn looked at the girl with his arms crossed.  
The girl took another deep breath before pulling the oxygen mask down, "No. What earth?"  
Alex and Kara looked at each other, shock on their faces before the all looked at the girl stunned. Alex reached for a pen torch, shining it in the girl's eyes briefly, checking the reaction of her pupils, "I think you might have sustained a head injury..."  
"I know I know, I sound crazy but just listen. My earth was just destroyed, none of us could stop it. I'm just assuming I'm on another earth because you all look human and the aliens I know look anything but human. Please, you have to believe me."

Kara was first to react, "Aliens? And wait your earth was destroyed?"  
The girl nodded and paused for a moment, holding her stomach and trying to ignore the ache spreading. "I have powers, I can absorb energy from anything and repurpose it. The aliens that invaded my earth experimented on me and others, increased our powers without giving us any control. We absorbed all the energy from everything on the planet until it shattered into a million pieces and I ended up here I guess. But look, I think the same thing is happening again. I'm begging you, please, please, help me. I can't live with destroying my earth let alone someone else's. Please."

There were a few moments of stunned silence before Kara spoke up, "What do we do Alex?"  
Kara and the girl looked at Alex, who in turn looked at them a bit lost for words. “Um…I, we can, we can… aliens?”  
“Look if you don’t believe me then I have to find someone that does!” The girl moved to get up, planting her feet on the floor before standing up and promptly collapsing to the ground whilst yelling in agony.  
Kara quickly moved forward and held the girl up, “You’re hurt you shouldn’t move.”  
Alex scoffed, “Hurt is an understatement, you shouldn’t move, I think you just tore your stitches.” Alex motioned to the small smudge of blood under the girls’ bandages.  
The girl simply grimaced in response, “My injuries aren’t important. Everyone else is. I heal fast anyways, especially with the upgrade.”  
Alex walked across to the girl and lifted the bandage and audibly gasped, “You’re telling the truth?”  
“Crazy I know, but true. So please help me before I end up killing all of you.” The girl looked pleadingly at Alex, still leaning heavily on Kara.  
J’onn stepped forward with his arms folded across his chest, looking at the girl, “What do we need to do?”

* * *

“Kara, can you scan her please?” Alex tapped on the word pad in front of her, typing a few things.  
Kara nodded and turned to the girl, proceeding to scan her with her X-ray vision.  
The girl looked surprised, “That’s pretty handy…”  
“It’s on the back of her neck, attached to her spine? I think?” Kara frowned as she directed her vision to the spot.”  
The girl promptly moved a hand to the back of her neck and felt it, “That’s just plain rude.”  
Alex swiftly moved to them and scanned the back of the girl’s neck. “This is definitely what’s causing it. It’s tapped into the electrical impulses running through your spinal cord.”  
“So now you know where it is you can shut it off right?”  
Alex nodded, “Yep, just give me one second…it should be off.”  
The girl paused for a moment with a stunned look on her face, “It worked?”  
Kara was just about to cheer when all the equipment in the room sparked and failed, the energy visibly jumping from the equipment to the girl, who promptly was thrown against the wall. The lights flickered and then returned to their brightness but all the equipment running from their own power source remained dead.  
The girl groaned as she moved off the wall, “Please don’t do that again...”  
Alex, J’onn and Kara looked between each other, all of them lost for words.

Kara eventually regained her composure and ran over and helped the girl up, “What do we do now Alex?”  
Alex opened her mouth to speak but she only could produce an ‘um’.  
The girl leant against Kara, her arm around Kara’s shoulders as Kara helped her back up, “You don’t have any more ideas?”  
Alex paused, looking around the place as she thought, “It’s attached to your brainstem…and it has to be powered somehow? Does it have its own power source or is it using the energy from you?”  
The girl shrugged, “I wouldn’t know, can Kara check?”  
Kara quickly did another scan, “I can’t see anything that looks like a power source.”  
Alex tapped on her tablet a few times before she stopped, her eyes widening, “It’s getting its power from you.”  
“Meaning what exactly?” Kara raised an eyebrow at Alex.  
“Meaning that while I’m still alive it’s not going to stop…”

The whole group stood at a stand still before the girl moved faster than anyone could react, rushing over to Alex, pulling her gun from its holster.  
“Whoa whoa whoa! Stop! You don’t have to do that! We can figure something out!” Kara put her hands up pleadingly as the girl put the gun to her own head.  
“You don’t understand. I can’t be a part of the destruction of another so be it.” The girl closed her eyes, switching the safety off the gun and putting it to her temple.  
Alex rushed forward, trying to disarm the girl but the girl moved faster than she did and seemed to be far stronger, “You don’t have to do this. We can stop your heart without killing you.”  
“Yeah, with what? A defibrillator? If you have them of course…but if you do, you’ll just give me, and it, more power.” The girl glared at Alex, staring her down  
Kara moved forward to stand next to Alex, “We can fix this. If you were going to shoot yourself you would have done it already. Let us help.”  
The girl looked at Alex and Kara, trying to keep her face firm before she switched the gun safety back on and dropped it, tears leaking from her eyes, “Please help me.”


	2. Chapter 2 - Trust?

After a few tense moments, Alex sprung into action, scooping up her gun and re-holstering it before she reached for the girl’s hand. “I have an idea.”  
The girl slowly took Alex’s hand, who promptly led her back to the bed she had been in originally.  
Alex motioned for her to sit and pulled over a tray of equipment.  
Kara walked over, frowning with her arms crossed over her chest, “What are you doing Alex?”  
Alex started placing leads on the girl, “I’m going to need your help Kara.”  
Kara nodded, “What do you need me to do?”  
Alex placed a final lead before looking at Kara, “I need you to stop her heart.”  
“What?” Kara’s jaw dropped as her mouth hung open, trying to process what Alex just said.  
J’onn stepped in, he had remained silent up until now, “Alex what exactly are you proposing?”  
“When enough force is applied in the precise spot on the chest you can essentially stop a person’s heart. Obviously that’s a bad thing normally but we can start it again afterwards here.”  
“Are you certain?” J’onn folded his arms over his chest, remaining stoic.  
“So you just want me to kill her?” Kara stared at Alex, trying to process it.  
“I’m certain J’onn.” Alex moved her gaze from J’onn to Kara, ”Briefly, yes.”

They all stood in silence for a moment before the girl nodded, “Well, I guess if this doesn’t work I’d at least like you to know my name before you kill me. I’m Tess.”  
Kara looked between Alex and Tess, still stunned, “I’m not killing you Tess.”  
“You have to Kara, all we need to do is stop her heart pumping effectively for long enough for her body to shut down, that way the device should power down, retract into it’s self and I can cut it out quickly.”  
“Yeah but what if we don’t revive her fast enough? What happens then? She just dies because I killed her?”  
Alex put her hands on Kara’s shoulders, “Kara, I promise you I won’t let that happen. You’re not going to actually kill her.”  
“Whether you kill me or you manage to bring me back, either way you save the planet, that’s good enough for me Kara.” Tess pleadingly looked at the two as she stood in front of Kara, bracing herself.  
Kara closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “Please let this work.”

* * *

 “You’re going to need your top off completely for this unfortunately, Tess.” Alex placed her hands at the bottom of the scrub top they’d put on the girl.  
Tess nodded, “Alright, go ahead. I’m keeping my bra on though if you don’t mind. Sorry, just you are still strangers and I’m not really that type of girl.”  
J’onn averted his eyes as Alex got Tess ready.  
Alex gently removed Tess’ top, helping Tess remove her arms from the sleeves, once she was done Alex grabbed a marker from the equipment nearby, “Alright…let’s hope I can get this in the right spot.”  
Kara almost choked on her own spit, “Hope?! Alex! Be careful!”  
Alex concentrated as she muttered a reply, “I am…” Alex placed a mark over Tess’ heart, giving Kara a guide of where to hit. She then moved and placed the two defibrillator pads in their places on Tess before turning back to Kara, “Alright, you need to do this at the exact right moment or it’s not going to work. You’ve got about 10-30 milliseconds for this to work, you need to hit her right here as soon as you see the ventricles of her heart beat.”  
“Alex, I don’t know what the ventricles are.” Kara looked confused.  
Alex shook her head, “Just as soon as you see her heart beat you need to hit her. Not too hard, just use your super speed and about a tenth of your strength. Otherwise you really will kill her.”  
Kara just looked scared as she stared at Alex, “I don’t think I can do this.”  
Tess gave Kara a small smile, “I trust you. Trust yourself too.”

Tess stood up, taking a deep breath to prepare herself, “I’m ready now.”  
Alex nodded, “J’onn I need you to hold her steady.”  
Tess frowned, “I won’t flinch.”  
“You can’t move an inch, I just want to be sure.”  
Tess just shrugged and let J’onn stand behind her, holding her steady by the shoulders.  
Kara paced the room, psyching herself up for what she was about to do.  
Alex grabbed her work pad, watching Tess’ vitals on the screen with a timer ready in the corner. “Once it’s done we have to wait at least a minute for it to power down, then we’ve got another two before we need to revive her. Ready when you are Kara.”  
Before Tess even had a chance to really think about much more than what Alex had said Kara had already slammed a fist into her chest, knocking her back into J’onn. For a second she thought it hadn’t worked, and then she completely collapsed into J’onn’s arms, falling unconscious.  
Alex looked at the telemetry of Tess’ heart, her eyes widening as she saw the results, “It worked!”  
“Thank Rao!” Kara quickly helped J’onn lift Tess up onto the bed again, rolling her over so that Alex had access to the device on Tess’ brainstem.  
Alex quickly dropped her work pad on the nearby table, grabbing gloves and the rest of the equipment.

Alex swabbed all around the site with alcohol, watching her work pad count down.  
Kara and J’onn waited with baited breath, holding Tess still for Alex.  
Alex held the scalpel and expertly cut a straight line down Tess’ neck.  
Kara looked away, unable to watch as blood ran past her hands.  
It took Alex a few moments as she reached in, her face deep in concentration, crinkling in the middle of her forehead. She carefully but quickly felt around the incision, “I can feel it.”  
“Can you get it out?” Kara looked at Alex, trying to ignore what her sister was doing.  
“It’s not budging. I think I need you to get it Kara. My fingers aren’t getting a good enough grip, even if you can’t grip much better your strength will still help.”  
Kara swallowed the lump that quickly formed in her throat, “Um…are you sure it’s not budging?”  
“I’m sure. We don’t have time for me to keep failing at getting it out Kara. We’ve got just over a minute before we need to revive her and we cannot do that with this still inside her.”

Alex swiftly walked away, discarding her gloves before grabbing another new pair for herself and Kara.  
“Here, put these on and I’ll guide your fingers to the right spot with mine. J’onn, can you keep holding her steady please?”  
J’onn nodded, focusing on holding Tess’ head still.  
Kara put the gloves on that Alex handed her, mentally preparing herself for what she was about to do, “I’m Supergirl. I can do this.”  
“Yes you can.” Alex gave Kara a reassuring smile, “I’ll guide you it’s fine.”  
Kara took a moment to compose herself before stepping forward, “Alright. Here we go.” Kara followed Alex’s finger as she guided her to the correct spot, “Is this it?”  
Alex nodded, “Yep that’s it. It should be fine to just rip it out, the connections it had were severed when we stopped her heart.”  
“Okay!” Kara quickly wrenched her hand back, pulling out the device, “I got it!”

Alex grinned, “Good job. Now crush it. We don’t want that anywhere near anything else.”  
Kara happily obliged, crushing the small metallic device into small pieces in her hand and then removing her gloves.  
Alex did a quick scan on her work pad before listing off instructions, “Alright we’re in the clear. Lay her on her back and start compressions. She’s in v-fib so we can defibrillate. Keep doing compressions while it charges. Kara, can you grab that bag and mask and give her two ‘breaths’ after every 30 compressions.” Alex raced into action, turning on the defibrillator, which promptly told her it was analysing the rhythm. It took a few seconds before it was ready and Alex told J’onn and Kara to back away, “Don’t touch her while it shocks. Stand clear.”  
Alex pushed the button, administering the shock, watching the telemetry monitor and cursing as it registered no change, “J’onn get back on compressions while it charges.” Alex turned around and drew up some adrenaline, setting the needle to the side as the defibrillator charged again.  
“Stand clear again.” Alex pushed the button once more, waiting for any sort of change, when it didn’t Alex quickly administered the adrenaline.  
Kara spoke up, concern lacing her voice, “Can you turn the amount up? On the defibrillator? She said she absorbs energy she can handle the largest shock I’m sure.”  
Alex nodded as she fiddled with the settings, “You’re right. Alright, this is as high as it will go. Stand clear again.”  
The trio took their hands away as Alex administered the shock and Tess came gasping back to life and sat bolt upright.

Tess took deep, gasping breaths as she clutched her chest, “It worked!”  
The trio let out one big sigh of relief as Tess caught her breath.  
Tess gave herself a few moments to recover her breath before she spoke up again, “Eugh, can I have a towel or something to stop what I assume is blood running down my neck?” Tess shuddered at the feeling of the blood rolling down her back.  
Alex grabbed a handful of gauze, placing it on the back of Tess’ neck.  
Tess reached up and grabbed it, holding it in place before groaning, “You guys really went at it, I feel like I got smashed with a truck. I guess I got smashed by you Super Kara.”  
Kara smiled sheepishly, “It’s actually Supergirl.”  
“Well that’s a bit narcissistic.” Tess frowned.  
Alex chuckled and shook her head at Kara as she struggled to reply. While they were talking she was removing all the electrodes and the defibrillator pads still on Tess.  
Tess laughed, “I’m kidding, I quite like it actually. I wish we had someone like you back on my earth…” Tess zoned out slightly, her eyes glazing over as she stared past Kara.  
Reaching a hand forward, Kara gently held Tess’ free hand, giving it a small squeeze, “We’ve got you now. This can be your home too.”  
For a moment Tess remained silent before she slowly gave Kara’s hand a small squeeze in return, “Thank you. For saving me.”  
“You’re welcome.” Kara gave her a glowing smile in return.

Alex paused, letting the two have a moment before she interrupted, handing Tess her old scrub top to put on. “Not to be bossy, but Tess I really think you should rest. Powers or no powers, you’ve been through a hell of a lot.”  
Tess nodded in agreement, accepting the top and putting it back on, “I have nothing against having a really big nap.”  
“Before you do that though you should shower, and I’ve just got one question.”  
“Yeah?” Tess gave Alex a small smirk in response.  
“How old are you?”  
“16, is that good or bad?”  
“Wow, no that’s fine, I was just curious.” Alex gave her a smile before checking the gauze on the back of her neck, “It’s nearly stopped bleeding, you do heal fast.”  
Tess laughed, “I wasn’t lying. Now can I shower and sleep?”  
Alex nodded, “Yeah, the two guards just outside this room can escort you to the shower and then a bed, we’ll check on you later.”  
Tess frowned at the mention of guards before shrugging it off and getting off the bed, “Do I really need the guards?”  
“Yes.” J’onn stood with his arms crossed, his face showing there was no room for discussion.  
Tess just bit her lip and spun to face the door, “Got it. Thanks.” Leaving the room with one last gaze, Tess hung her head as she walked out the door.

* * *

 “Well. I think we can say that was a success.” J’onn nodded to Alex, acknowledging her good work.  
Alex simply let out a deep exhausted sigh, leaning back against the wall, “That was intense was what that was.”  
“You did good Alex. I’m proud of you.” Kara smiled at her sister.  
Alex smiled in return, “You did good too Kara.”  
“Yes you both did well. The only question now is what to do with Tess from now on.” J’onn placed his hands on his sides, frowning as he thought.  
“She didn’t seem to happy about the guards.” Kara pointed out.  
“No, she didn’t. I guess she trusts us, I mean obviously she does otherwise no one in their right mind would leave their life if the hands of someone they didn’t trust. But we don’t know whether we can trust her yet.” Alex placed her hands to her temples, rubbing her fingers in small circles, she was most certainly getting a headache.  
“I don’t doubt she trusts us, but until we know for certain that we can trust her in return I want her under a two guard escort at all times. She won’t like it, but I will not put the safety of everyone on this base at risk.”  
“Gee, that’s a little harsh, the safety of everyone?” Kara scoffed at J’onn.  
“She said she destroyed an entire planet. I’m not taking any chances Kara.” J’onn let his hands drop down before walking out of the room.

* * *

 

Meanwhile, Tess had arrived at the showers and been given a towel and a fresh pair of scrubs to change into. The guards that escorted her in were waiting just outside the room. She frowned at them waiting, but she guessed she didn’t really have much choice but to deal with it. “Don’t sneak a look.”  
The guards didn’t respond, their gazes staying focused ahead.  
Tess shrugged her shoulders before removing her bloodied scrubs.

The pants weren’t too bad but the top was covered in blood, it was going to feel amazing getting clean clothes, even if it was just another pair of scrubs. She turned on the water, waiting a few moments before it got piping hot and she stood under it, the water pooling beneath her feet turned red from all the blood that was running off of her. It was pretty gross, but she was used to it unfortunately, the only difference being it usually wasn’t her own. Either way it felt amazing to get all the grime off of her. She closed her eyes, trying to enjoy the moment, but every time she closed her eyes she saw explosions.

Her planet exploding before her eyes, she could hear the screams, not just of the people, but of the earth itself. She knew she was never going to forget what she’d done; she only wanted to not see it. It would already haunt her for years; she just wanted a freaking shower, not to relieve the memories. She tried to stop thinking about it but after the first memory she couldn’t stop. She punched the wall in frustration, cursing as she met the solid wall with her fist. One of the guards yelled in, asking if she was okay.  
“I’m fine! All good. Just nearly slipped.” She groaned as she held her fist before she took a deep breath and the injury healed itself in front of her eyes.  
At least something was still going right for her in her life. Besides that, she was on another whole earth, amongst people that didn’t trust her yet, and while they were nice, at the moment she just felt completely alone. She really, just wanted a hug from her parents. She slid her back down the wall until she was on the ground, not caring how many other people had stood in this shower before her. She slid down, and cried.

* * *

 

After an eternity later, Tess was jolted by her name being called. She looked up and was greeted by a towel.  
“I’m holding this up in front of my eyes until you grab it. Not going to peek I swear.” Alex’s voice spoke behind the towel.  
“I’m sure you already saw everything earlier anyway, but thanks.” Tess slowly stood up and turned off the water, taking the towel and wrapping it around her whilst Alex kept her eyes closed, “Won’t be a minute, just let me put clothes on.”  
Alex turned around and kept her eyes shut too, “Got it, tell me when.”  
Quickly changing into her new set of scrubs, Tess started to dry her hair, “I’m decent again. Thanks for actually keeping your eyes shut.”  
Alex opened her eyes slowly and smiled at Tess, “It’s common decency.”  
“Don’t take this the wrong way but I thought I had the other two guards keeping an eye on me?” Tess was still trying to dry her hair with the towel.  
Alex nodded, “They still are, but you were taking quite a while and they didn’t want to come in.”  
“Oh, sorry. I zoned out a bit. I think I actually had half my nap in there.” Tess’ face fell a bit as she looked at the ground.  
Alex placed a hand on Tess’ shoulder, “It’s alright. I would be worried if you didn’t have a lot on your mind currently. This must be really weird for you, I get that.”  
Tess shrugged, making eye contact with Alex, “I knew there were other earth’s, but travelling between them was strictly prohibited. Lucky no one else survived otherwise I’d be arrested or…well killed.”  
Alex looked taken aback before she put on a fake smile, “Well uh, we don’t have those rules here. So you’re safe. How do you feel about a little tour?”  
Tess smiled at that, “Safe? I like safe. I’m keen for a tour too, I’ll sleep a little later.”

* * *

 

After a few minutes of Alex helping Tess look a bit more decent in scrubs, the two of them walked out to the DEO control room, closely followed by the two-guard escort.  
Tess gazed around the place, her mouth open in surprise, “This place is a lot bigger than I thought.”  
“It’s certainly something.” Alex looked around herself, taking in the DEO.  
They were halfway to the main control table when Tess stopped, looking at the doorway to the outside.  
Alex stopped as well, crossing her arms, “We haven’t cleared you to leave the building yet Tess.”  
Tess looked back at Alex, pointing towards the door, “Is that the sky outside?”  
Alex cocked an eyebrow, looking at Tess like she was stupid, “Um. Yeah?”  
Tess started to move towards the door, against the wishes of Alex and the guards with them.  
“Tess stop. You can’t go out yet.” Alex placed a hand on her holstered gun.  
Tess noticed the motion but she shook her head at Alex, “You don’t understand, please let me go out.”  
“Tess no. Not yet, once we give you clearance fine. But not yet.”  
Tess curled her hands into fists, starting to say something before she simply shook her head, trying to control her anger. A few seconds later she’d given it all the thought she was going to. She turned and bolted towards the door leading outside.

Alex sprung into action, grabbing her gun and aiming it at Tess who was still sprinting towards the door. She raced after her, still keeping her gun trained on the girl, likewise the guards raced after Tess behind her.  
Tess got to the door and spun on her heels, facing Alex and the guards, along with others, including J’onn, who had now trained their guns on her, “I just want to go outside. Is it really so dramatic?”  
J’onn spoke up, “We don’t know you Tess, given the initial demonstrations of your abilities you could pose a significant threat to National City and this earth.”  
Tess scoffed, “Oh okay, well, when you put it that way…” Tess turned around and placed her hand on the door, barely flinching as Alex fired a round just above her hand. She paused once more, turning to face them all, “If you want a demonstration of how much a threat I can become then I’m happy to oblige.”  
  
Tess dropped her hands to her sides, spreading her feet slightly to brace herself, she needed to recharge, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t show off a bit.  
“I’m going to give you three seconds to get on your knees and surrender Tess.” J’onn growled out.  
Tess smirked, “Okay. You count.”  
J’onn started to count as Tess counted the amount of guns aimed at her, the odds were in her favour.  
As J’onn finished his two Tess started to kneel, smiling at him as she lowered herself, by three she was kneeling on the ground, ‘surrendering’.  
A guard started to shuffle one foot slightly forward to detain her and that was her cue. She slammed her fist to the ground, connecting to the floor and setting off an explosive wave of energy in all directions. The guards went flying, Alex and J’onn managed to brace quickly enough, allowing them to remain standing.  
Tess was completely drained, but she got up, running out the door, audibly gasping as she stood on the balcony, staring up at the sky.

Alex and J’onn ran up the steps moments behind Tess, Alex coming behind Tess and kicking out the back of her shins.  
Tess dropped to the ground but kept staring at the sky, speechless as Alex got behind her, dragging her arms around and handcuffing her.  
“I thought we could trust you Tess.” Alex looked disappointed as she finished tightening the cuffs.  
Tess scoffed, “You can trust me. None of your guards are dead. I just wanted to see a real sky. Was that really too much to ask?”  
Alex paused, “A real sky?”  
Tess nodded, “My earth’s sky was entirely artificial, since a century ago we covered our skies with metal domes, for ‘protection’. Meaning basically so we could pay for our sunlight. I just wanted to see a real sky Alex. Clearance or not, I thought that wasn’t too much to ask.”  
Alex remained speechless before looking at J’onn, who himself looking slightly lost for words.  
Tess hung her head, a few tears starting to drip down her face, “I swear to you I just wanted to see a real sky. I’m sorry, I just- I had to see it. Now I’m crying too which means you’re either going to think I’m genuine or trying really hard to fake it. But I promise I’m telling the truth. I just wanted to see a real blue sky…”  
Alex wrenched Tess to her feet as she looked at J’onn and shook her head, “That was a really stupid idea, Tess.”  
Tess shrugged, “Stupid but I got to see the sky.”  
Alex unexpectedly pulled her around to face her, engulfing her in a giant hug.

Tess looked a bit stunned for a few moments before she sort of accepted the hug, as much as she could whilst still handcuffed, “I would hug you back, but um. Yeah.”  
Alex pulled herself together and stopped hugging Tess, smiling awkwardly as she then un-cuffed Tess.  
Tess dropped her hands back by her sides and looked up at the sky one more time, “It’s so beautiful.”  
“It is. But I’m not sure if this really helps your argument for helping us clear you.” J’onn looked at Alex, who avoided his eye.  
Tess shrugged, “I’ve seen it now. I’m sorry. I have nothing left to hit you with anyway though. Even if you couldn’t trust me I can’t do anything now. I do promise though, you can trust me.”  
J’onn kept his gaze firmly on Tess, staring into her eyes, reading her with his mind.  
Tess was getting a bit put off by his staring when Kara landed next to them all.  
“Did I miss something?” Kara brushed herself off, looking between the three of them, “Oh did they give you clearance Tess?”  
Alex chuckled and shook her head grinning at Kara’s comment.  
Tess just smiled at Kara and shrugged, “You could say that?”  
J’onn rolled his eyes at the whole thing and walked back inside, “I’ll take a report from you Supergirl.”  
Kara’s forehead crinkled, a little confused, looking to Alex for clarification.  
Alex waved her off, “Just go talk to J’onn. I’ll explain later.”


	3. Chapter 3 - Day Trip

“You’re telling me, that she alone, put over 20 DEO agents on their backs at once!?” Kara paced the room as J’onn and Alex shared a look with one another.  
“Well yeah I think that’s what I just said, Kara.” Alex leant forward, resting her arms on the DEO control table.  
“How does a 16 year old do that guys!? I don’t get it! You shot at her as well? Why?” Kara put her hands on her hips, her eyes wide as she stared at Alex.  
Alex just put her heads in her hands and stared at the table, “She’s a powerful teenager. You weren’t around and we didn’t realise J’onn would have been justified using his abilities. We didn’t think she could just explode like that. I mean we’ve never seen someone do that before.”  
“That’s exactly why she’s in a holding cell now.” J’onn looked over the screen showing them a live feed of Tess’ cell.  
Tess was just lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling with an arm hanging over the side.  
“Well do you think we can trust her?” Kara moved to stand shoulder to shoulder with Alex, leaning against the control table as well.  
Alex rested against Kara, letting out a sigh, “Honestly I don’t know. She seems genuine, but with power like that..,”  
“We need to know for sure.” J’onn finished for Alex, still watching the live feed.  
“For now she should be fine in there, we can talk to her in the morning, I think we should all just go home now.” Kara rubbed Alex’s shoulder, noticing how tired her sister looked.  
“Hey, um. Before you guys go home, I think you should all have a look at this.” Winn appeared with his tablet, a sheepish look on his face, “It’s kind of important.”

Kara, Alex and J’onn all turned to look at him, Kara speaking first, “What is it?”  
Winn just motioned for them to follow him, “You have to see it.”  
Kara and Alex gave each other a questioning look before they moved to follow him, J’onn following just behind them.  
Winn lead them to one of the labs, the clothing the Tess had been wearing hanging in the centre of the room. “This is the suit she was wearing when she arrived. Notice anything odd?”  
J’onn noticed it first, “Where’s the damage?”  
Winn snapped his fingers, “Ha! Exactly. It stunned me too so I ran a full scan on the suit. Turns out it’s a self-healing carbon nano-polymer weave. In English, it’s insanely high-tech. This stuff doesn’t exist anywhere, publicly or privately.”  
Alex looked over the hanging suit; it was all black, with the exception of some white writing down the sleeves, on the back and on the left side of the chest. “What does this stand for? EM-107?”  
“That’s just it; the suit seems to have some sort of internal memory, supposedly that’s a designation. Tess’ designation that is. We just can’t figure out what it stands for.” Winn let out a defeated sigh as he stared at the suit.

“Is that it?” J’onn frowned at Winn, not seeing the significance.  
“Well there’s this other thing, inside the internal memory there’s thousands of files, really at the moment we’re just interested in the most recent stuff. But we can’t access it; the data is all heavily encrypted. Sure I can hack it but this isn’t alien tech, if she really is from another Earth then they’re really different from here. It’s going to take a long time to crack.” Winn looked between them all, a spark in his eyes.  
“You want to ask her don’t you?” Alex shook her head at Winn, “It’s way too dangerous.”  
“Hey you’re the one that hugged her after she nearly killed half of us.” Winn scoffed.  
“That was a moment of weakness, which I don’t plan on repeating. It’s too dangerous, Winn.”  
“The difference is I’m here now guys, surely after that earlier show she doesn’t have anything left to give. If we put her in handcuffs and we’re all present we can stop her before she can hurt anyone. I think it’s worth a try.” Kara looked pleadingly at Alex and J’onn, Winn smiling at Kara taking his side.  
J’onn took a deep breath, his mouth set in a hard line, pausing for a few moments, “Alright. I want a four-guard escort as well, we’ll go down, detain her and bring her up here. I don’t care if she’s a teenager or not, if she hurts any more of my men I will not be giving her another chance to be trusted.”

Approximately ten minutes later the team had moved down to the holding cells, Tess saw them coming as soon as they walked into the room, standing up as they all approached.  
“I thought we were done talking for the night?” Tess frowned, her forehead wrinkling, looking at the large group of people that had gathered.  
“We want some information, it’ll be a lot quicker if you help us, and a good step towards gaining some of our trust.” J’onn remained stoic as he looked at Tess.  
Tess couldn’t help but smirk cheekily, “Alright. Happy to help.”  
Alex opened the door, scrutinising Tess, “Make any sudden moves and we will not hesitate to shoot you this time.”  
Tess put her hands up and pursed her lips, “Got it.”  
Kara watched with her arms crossed and her face stern as Alex put Tess in handcuffs and marched the girl out to the group. Alex had her hands on Tess’ left shoulder and Kara moved forward to grab Tess’ right. “I’m here now too, so definitely no sudden moves.”  
Tess just nodded before being pushed along by Kara and Alex, followed by the rest, “Loud and clear, Supergirl.”

* * *

 Without issue the group returned to the lab, the four-guard escort remained in the doorway, all four of the guards not taking their eyes off Tess.  
“Well now I know where my suit went.” Tess stood in place, still held by Kara and Alex.  
“It’s a really nice suit.” Winn tapped on his tablet before placing it on the lab desk, walking around the suit. “This thing is insanely high-tech and has so much stored info- I’m Winn by the way.”  
Tess couldn’t really move much so she just smiled and nodded, “Nice to meet you Winn.”  
“Winn, get to the point.” Alex kept her grip firm on Tess, rolling her eyes at Winn’s excitement.  
“Okay sorry. We’re trying to access the files on your suit’s storage but it’s heavily encrypted. So we just wanted you to tell us the encryption key. That’s all.” Winn clasped his hands together, eagerly waiting for Tess to answer.  
Tess simply shrugged, “I don’t know it.”

Winn looked despondent, “What?”  
“I don’t know it. I don’t use passwords I just use the suit. If you let me use the suit then I can let you into the files.”  
“Whoa no. Nope, nice try Tess. Not happening.” Kara shook her head vigorously, so much so Tess was concerned she was going to get dizzy.  
“I’m not joking, Kara. Honestly that’s how I access the data on the suit. The suit doesn’t have any weapons, it won’t bite. That’s why they put us in the suits funnily enough.” Tess gave Kara a dirty look, “Look if you don’t trust me, just let me touch it, that should do it too. But just for the record, things are going to look sketchy when I do touch it but I’m not trying to be difficult.”

J’onn spoke through gritted teeth, “Let her do it Alex and Kara. The information we might gain is worth the risk.”  
Tess’ eyes flickered with hope as she looked at J’onn, hope that maybe she could still gain their trust. She felt Alex and Kara slowly release their grip on her, but they didn’t move away from her. She slowly shuffled forward, making sure she didn’t seem too eager. Reaching out with her cuffed hands Tess brushed her fingers against one of the sleeves of her suit. Immediately the suit seemed to reboot itself, the individual nano-polymers moving and reconfiguring as one, the writing on the suit lit up, flickering between it’s previous wording of ‘EM-107’ to now showing ‘Police’. Winn’s tablet lit up, along with the various screens around the lab.  
“Bingo! It worked!” Winn pumped his fist in the air, his whole face smiling from ear to ear, “This is incredible, there’s so much data.”  
“Wait, you’re part of the police force?” Kara gaped at the writing, “You’re a kid!”  
Tess lifted an eyebrow at her, “Is that not common place here?”  
The side of Alex’s mouth twitched, refraining from a smile, “No. No it’s not.”

Winn finally looked up from his screen, “So you’re a police enforcer, designation EM-107, it’s all here.” Winn briefly showed his tablet to the rest before returning to his fiddling.  
“Yep. I told you I wasn’t a bad person…” Tess gazed at Winn, wondering just how much data he was receiving from her suit.  
“What does your designation stand for?” J’onn moved to look over Winn’s shoulder, looking at the data.  
“It stands for Energy Manipulator 107. It’s a great name.”  
Alex looked at the rest of the group before narrowing her eyes at Tess, “What exactly does that mean?”  
“Well obviously I’m an energy manipulator. We have several different classes of enforcers on my earth. Some who use brute strength, some with ‘super’ speed, and so on, my class obviously can absorb and convert energy into a useable weapon or ability. The government on my earth controlled the population; powered and non-powered, down to how many calories you ate per day. If you had powers like me, you were under government control from conception to death…”  
“From conception!? That’s a bit extreme isn’t it?” Kara laughed half-heartedly before quickly shutting up as Alex and J’onn glared at her.  
“Well…not exactly. Those of us with powers only exist due to the government in the first place. Normal conception is practically impossible, and also illegal. Every child on my earth is created through unnatural means. They get to choose whether you have powers or not. Hence they expect you to give your life to the cause.”  
Kara was hoping Tess was joking, but from the serious look on her face, Kara knew she wasn’t.

“She’s telling the truth.” Winn looked up from his screen, his face set in a mixture of horror and excitement. He was gaining so much information but so much of it was unpleasant.  
“Anything else you want to know?” Tess looked around the group, taking in their various expressions, all of them looking a little shocked.  
“What kind of sick place was your earth?” Alex’s mouth gaped open slightly, her forehead creased with a frown.  
“You don’t need to point out the obvious to me. I haven’t even been on this earth for a week but already I can see my earth was really screwed up.” Tess chewed on her bottom lip, fiddling with the cuffs on her wrists. She was getting lost in her thoughts until she heard her voice yelling out, her head shot up and saw the screens around the room playing footage of her final moments on her earth. “What are you doing?!” Tess had to stop herself from lunging at Winn but before she could blink Kara had a hold on her.  
Winn held a hand up in surrender, the other still holding his tablet, “Whoa, whoa chill. I just opened the last file recorded!”  
“Turn it off.” Tess fought against Kara’s hold, giving Winn a death glare and trying to get to him so she could smash his tablet.  
Explosions and munitions fire on the video interrupted her struggling; the whole group shifting their focus from Tess to the screens.  
Winn gasped as the scene played out, hundreds of the other enforcers in Tess’ class dropping from the sky dead as the earth literally exploded in all their faces.

Tess was hit by the memories she’d been hit by when she’d been absorbing the lives of those on earth, so many faces flashed before her eyes as she collapsed in Kara’s arms, tears involuntarily streaming down her face.  
“Winn turn it off!” Kara dropped down to the ground with Tess’ quivering form, her face full of concern as Tess buried her head in Kara’s chest, sobbing relentlessly.  
Alex quickly dropped down with Kara, trying to figure out what was going on, “Tess? Tess what’s wrong?”  
Winn quickly tapped his tablet, the screens around the room turning black as they turned off. “I’m sorry! I didn’t realise!”  
J’onn knelt down in front of Kara and Tess, placing a hand on Tess’ forehead, his eyes turning red as he read her thoughts. He quickly retracted his hand with a sharp exhale, being overloaded by the hundreds of thoughts, without much thought he reached out again, concentrating for a moment before Tess’ body slumped against Kara.  
  
“What did you just do?” Kara had her arms wrapped around Tess, holding the girls head against her.  
“I just sent a psychic pulse to temporarily stop her mind from processing anymore. It’s just put her to sleep, no harm done.” J’onn scrunched up his face, trying to regain his composure.  
“What was going on?” Alex did a quick check of Tess’ pulse to be sure, placing two fingers against Tess’ carotid pulse.  
“There were hundreds of thoughts in her mind, memories more like it. So many faces and so much,” J’onn’s face twisted as he tried to find the right word, “Pain…I think when she destroyed her earth with the others they absorbed the energy of the people living there too, which brought their memories with it.” J’onn looked exhausted as he stood back up.  
“Well technically the firing of our neurons in our brains is through electrical impulses. It could happen if you could just absorb the right kind of energy I guess.” Winn tapped on his tablet before stopping himself, “That’s probably not helpful right now.”  
Kara looked up at Winn, giving him the smallest of smiles, “Not really Winn.”  
“That sort of emotional trauma is not good.” Alex stood up next to J’onn, “I think we should take her back to the infirmary instead, we can monitor her overnight, will the pulse last that long J’onn?”  
J’onn nodded, “It should last the night.”  
Kara pursed her lips and stood back up, holding Tess in her arms, “I’ll take her back."  
“Keep looking through the data Winn. It should give us some more info.” J’onn gave Tess one last glance before walking out of the lab with some parting words, “She’s still having her escort.”

* * *

 Tess spent the night in the infirmary, a few leads monitoring her brain activity overnight. She was handcuffed to one of the rails still but her escort had been downgraded to two guards overnight. She was only just waking up when Kara walked in.  
“Hey.” Kara spoke softly next to the head of the bed; she was in her work clothes, a dark red top, and white jeans with a cream coloured jacket over the top.  
Tess blinked a few times before fully opening her eyes, “Hey.”  
“How are you feeling?” Kara put her hand on Tess’ hand, giving it a small squeeze.  
“Tired to be honest. Even though I just woke up…” Tess looked over Kara, taking in her outfit, “Where are you going?”  
“I’m off to work, my actual job. Alex will be around today to go through more with you; I’ll be back later after work. I just wanted to see how you were going before I left, and, to ask that you don’t hurt anymore guards today, okay?”  
Tess chuckled slightly, “Got it. Promise I won’t. Tess snapped her fingers together, letting off the smallest of a spark that fizzled almost instantly. “That wouldn’t hurt a fly.”  
“That’s what I like to see. Anyways, I have to go to work or I’ll be late. I’ve got to make sure Mon-El, I mean Mike, is there on time for his first day of work.”  
Tess tilted her head slightly, not really knowing whom Mon-El or Mike was, but she just smiled and nodded, “Thanks for checking on me Kara.”  
Kara returned the smile before turning on her heels and speeding off.

It took about an hour before Alex showed up for Tess, another DEO employee had dropped by with some breakfast for her but that was it.  
“Sorry I’m late, just had to deal with some stuff, that’s all sorted now though.” Alex looked a little flustered, brushing her hair out of her face as she spoke.  
“Surely if there’s one way I can gain your trust it’s by helping you guys out. Anything I can do to help?” Tess’ eyes sparkled with intrigue as she looked at Alex.  
Alex huffed before seemingly weighing up the options, “After yesterday I’m not sure whether we can so quickly forgive.”  
“Then give me a chance to be forgiven; if I go off track I give you permission to shoot me. Without my suit I’m not exactly bulletproof. Which does remind me, can I get that back anytime soon?”  
Biting her lip for a moment, Alex stared at Tess, “Alright.” Alex looked around before unlocking Tess’ handcuffs. “If you come help me with something it will help you get your suit back faster.”  
Tess smirked, “Sounds fair to me.”  
Tess moved to walk past Alex before Alex’s hand shot out, holding her back, “First you need some proper clothes.” Alex gestured to the scrubs that Tess was still wearing and cocked an eyebrow, “If you want people to not stare at you that is.”  
“Well um…I didn’t bring anything with me…”  
Alex smirked at Tess, “We can fix that.”

* * *

 

After Alex sneaking Tess out of the DEO they got into her car and Alex ducked into the closest shopping mall, making Tess wait in the car, she did handcuff her to the door, but still. If that didn’t scream that Alex already trusted her more than she let on Tess didn’t know what the ‘I trust you’ signal was going to be. It took 10 minutes before Alex returned with a few bags in hand, “Here we are. They should fit, hopefully at least.”  
Once Alex uncuffed her, Tess took the bags and looked into them, her eyes widening at the clothes.  
“What, do you not like them?” Alex’s face fell as she watched Tess take out the clothes.  
Tess vigorously shook her head, “No honestly. I just, I’ve never worn these sorts of clothes…but,” Tess gestured towards Alex, looking her up and down, “I like what you’re wearing so, I trust you chose well.”  
Alex smiled, “Thanks. You’ll have to get changed in the car, I’ll stand in front of the door so no one peeks in.”  
Tess smiled in return, her face beaming, “Thanks.”

Alex turned around, leaning her back against the window as Tess got changed in the back seat.  
Tess took off her ever so attractive scrubs and pulled out a sleek pair of dark black jeans, putting them on straight away. Next she pulled out a striped top, a dark blue with white stripes. She couldn’t control her smile; she’d never in her life worn something so colourful, let alone so comfortable. Lastly, she pulled on a pair of plain socks with some dark blue converse matching the shade of the top. Knocking on the window, Alex opened the door for her to step out and show her.  
Alex grinned, “I think I chose well, what do you think?”  
Tess was speechless for a moment before she nodded at Alex, her cheeks hurting from smiling so much, “I like it.”  
“Excellent. Now, time for you to help me.”

* * *

Alex and Tess pulled up to a crime scene, Alex’s eyes immediately locking on Maggie Sawyer from afar as they both stepped out of the car. “I’m going to go talk to the detective over there. Stick nearby otherwise you’ll get kicked out, just have a look around.” Alex flashed her badge to a cop, “She’s with me.”  
Tess nodded, doing her best to walk casually behind Alex, putting her hands in her pockets and smiling awkwardly at the cop who frowned at her as she walked in with Alex.  
Maggie stood up from kneeling down, sealing an evidence bag with her hands, “You know they didn’t teach me one thing about anti-gravity guns in the academy.”  
“We’re on it, we’re analysing the area for any abnormal energy readings that can give us any clues.” Alex looked around, scoping out the scene before resting her gaze on Maggie.  
Maggie nodded and looked around Alex to look at Tess, “Is that what the kid is for? This is a crime scene Danvers.”  
Tess was looking around the scene a few feet away from the two, frowning as her hair stood on end. She glanced around, noticing Maggie looking at her with a frown before Alex looked back at her as well.  
“She’s a teenager actually, she is here to help though.” Alex gave Tess a nod to keep looking around before looking back at Maggie.  
“My point still stands.” Maggie moved on, Alex following her to keep talking.

Tess rolled her sleeves up as she saw Alex and Maggie walk off still talking, she knew she was supposed to stay nearby but she was feeling something off nearby. She moved a few steps closer to where Maggie and Alex had been a few moments ago, her hair standing even more on end, as she got closer. Something odd was surrounding the air around her, some sort of energy. Maybe it was just because she was running low on energy herself, but the sheer power was intoxicating, she took a deep breath, ignoring the cop staring at her suspiciously. She pulled her hands out of her pockets and reached forward into what felt like the core of the energy. Noticing the same cop reaching his hand for his holster and stepping closer she instantly absorbed the power, gasping as the wave hit her and a rather obvious flash of energy lit up where she had been reaching.

“Hey! Put your hands up!” The officer that had been watching her pulled his gun out; aiming it at her  
Tess was a little shell-shocked, stumbling backwards before putting her hands up, “Whoa okay.”  
Alex had just finished her conversation, already flustered from the conversation with Maggie, she gasped as she saw the cop aiming at Tess, “Hey! She’s with me. Lower your weapon!” Alex ran over in front of Tess, raising her hands.  
The officer frowned, “Step aside ma’am.”  
Alex reached into her pocket, “Agent Danvers, FBI. You stand down officer.”  
The officer choked a little as he realised he was aiming his weapon at an ‘FBI’ agent, “Ma’am I’m so sorry. She was acting suspiciously and there was a flash.”  
Tess was still catching her breath; her eyes wide as Alex glared back at her.  
“That’s alright, we’re leaving anyway.” Alex wrenched Tess’s arm, dragging her back to the car.

“What the hell was that about!? Could you be anymore obvious?” Alex scowled at Tess, crossing her arms tightly.  
“I’m sorry! There was some weird energy residue hanging around, I could feel it. So I just tried to absorb it, to be honest I now feel super weird.” Tess swayed on the spot; trying to stay upright, “I kind of feel…floaty?”  
“The criminals were using anti-gravity guns. But you can’t seriously be meaning that you feel like you’re about to-“ Alex was cut off as Tess latched onto her.  
“Get me back into the car Alex!”  
Alex rapidly moved, ripping open the car door and practically shoving Tess inside, “What the hell Tess?”  
Tess quickly strapped on her seatbelt, “I don’t know! This has never happened before!”  
By the time Alex ran round to her side of the car, Tess was floating in her seat, her seatbelt keeping her from hitting the roof too hard. Alex just stopped and stared, her mouth gaping open.  
“This hasn’t happened before.” Tess just held her hands above her head, preventing her head from hitting the roof.  
Alex just gaped before a bit longer before she shook her head and started the car, “We’re going to Kara’s. Her apartment’s closest.”  
“Probably a stupid question but she does have a roof right?”

* * *

Alex used her spare key to Kara’s apartment to get Tess and herself inside. She had to practically drag Tess into the apartment, holding onto the girl to prevent her from hitting the ceilings in the hallways to the apartment. Once they were inside she had let go, causing Tess to unexpectedly hit the ceiling in Kara’s apartment. “What the hell Tess?!”  
Tess looked down at Alex from the ceiling, “Look, I don’t know what sort of energy I absorbed, I can fly…but it’s not like this! I don’t know how to get rid of this stuff!” Tess concentrated on releasing the energy from her palms, but nothing was working.  
Alex didn’t even know what to say so she grabbed her phone, calling Kara as she walked back outside, leaving Tess to try and claw her way back down to the ground.  
Tess just groaned as she tried again to get rid of the unusual energy. She felt like an idiot who couldn’t walk properly as she crawled along the ceiling, using Kara’s lighting fixtures as points to pull herself forward and upright, well, upright on the roof. She didn’t really want to leave footprints on the roof but she didn’t know what else to do.

Kara quickly arrived to see what all the fuss was about, stopping as she looked up at Tess looking down at them, “What the hell Alex?”  
Alex threw up her hands, “I told you.”  
“You took her out of the DEO?” Kara hissed at Alex, staring up at Tess.  
“Well obviously, it was reckless I know but I thought she could be useful. I didn’t think this would happen!” Alex moved to Kara’s fridge, getting herself a beer.  
“Hey! No drinking until we sort this out.” Kara hovered herself above the ground, flying up so she was face to face with Tess.  
“Well…funny seeing you up here…” Tess just grimaced at Kara, trying to make light of the situation.  
Kara reached up and pulled Tess down by the shoulders, holding onto her tightly as she righted her and pulled her back down to the ground.  
Not even a few seconds passed between Tess and Kara’s feet reaching the ground and a knock at the door. Kara turned her head, keeping her arm firmly wrapped around Tess’ waist, “Crap, not now!”  
Alex raised an eyebrow, “Who is it?”  
“It’s Lena.” Kara bit her lip, not sure what to do.  
“You’ve got her right?” Alex pointed at Tess, walking to the door.  
“Excuse me I have got a name-“  
Kara nodded, keeping her grip firm around Tess, “Yep.”  
Alex put on a smile and opened the door.

 

Lena’s smile faltered for a second as Alex opened the door, not being the person she expected to see. Her eyes quickly darted to Kara, relieved that she had the right apartment. “Kara! Sorry to drop in on you again, I can leave if this is a bad time.”  
Kara waved her in with her free hand and scoffingly laughed, “Nonsense, it’s not a bad time at all.”  
Lena stepped in past Alex before pausing, “Wait I know you right? You’re the woman that saved me the other day.”  
Alex reached out her hand for a handshake, “Special Agent Alex Danvers, FBI.”  
Lena took her hand, smiling at Alex, “Wow, this city is smaller than I thought. So you’re Kara’s sister?”  
Alex nodded, smiling back at Lena, “The one and only.”  
Lena looked back at Kara, taking in Kara’s arm wrapped tightly around another younger girl, “So if you’re her only sister who’s this?”  
Kara, Alex and Tess all looked between each other, all of them panicking as to what on earth they were going to say, none of them had figured out a cover story yet for Tess’ presence.

Tess was first to speak up, “I’m Tess. I’m their niece-“  
“Cousin!” Kara laughed off Tess’ explanation, “She’s like our niece because we love her so much but she’s just a cousin of ours.”  
Lena walked over, holding out her hand again for a handshake, “Nice to meet you Tess.”  
Tess freaked out for a second, not really knowing what to do until she remembered what Alex had just done, reaching out her hand to shake Lena’s in return, “Nice to meet you Miss?” Tess trailed off; still unsure of whom she was speaking too.  
Lena frowned ever so slightly at the fact Kara still hadn’t stopped hugging Tess, “I’m Lena, Lena Luthor. Please just call me Lena. You’re lucky to have such amazing cousins.”  
Tess grinned and nodded her head, “I definitely am. These two are great.”  
Lena chuckled and smiled at Kara, “Not to be rude or anything but shouldn’t you be in school, Tess?”  
“Um, it’s on bre-“  
Once again Alex interrupted, “It’s a pupil free day today luckily enough!”  
“In the middle of the week?” Lena raised an eyebrow at the three.  
Kara just laughed loudly again, “Ah Lena you’re so funny, it’s weird but yeah it’s yeah pupil free day!” Kara adjusted her glasses with her free hand, just smiling at Lena to try and get past the awkwardness of the conversation.  
Tess nodded and smiled awkwardly at Lena as well, very aware of the fact how weird it must look that Kara was still holding onto her so tightly.

The silence lasted for a few more moments before Lena spoke up, “I just came by to ask a favour. I don’t want to say you owe me but I did give you that info about the fight club recently. I was wondering whether you could get in touch with Supergirl for me?”  
“Oh. Oh um yeah I could do that.” Kara nodded and smiled at Lena, “Sure thing.”  
Lena smiled, “Thank you so much Kara. You have no idea how much this means.”  
“Anything to help!”  
Tess stood there awkwardly, trapped in the conversation between Lena and Kara. She looked off at Alex, trying to not look too fussed at the conversation.  
Alex glared at Tess, imitating a hug to try and get Tess to look more like she wasn’t out of place.  
Tess just raised an eyebrow, a little confused; she leaned against Kara more, still watching Alex.  
Alex nodded and motioned with her hands to keep going until Lena and Kara both stared at her. She snapped a hand behind her back and reached for her phone in her pocket with the other, pretending she just got a text.  
Lena looked back at Kara, slightly confused but she let it go, “I guess I’ll leave you three to the rest of your day. I’ll see you at the Gala this weekend, Kara.”  
Kara nodded and grinned, leaning her head on Tess’ as Lena headed to the door, “I will definitely see you there! Have a great day Lena.”  
The three waved goodbye as Lena walked out the door, leaving the three of them in silence.

* * *

 Tess finally spoke up, “Well she was nice.”  
Alex rolled her eyes and Kara responded with an eye roll of her own, letting go of Tess.  
Tess scrambled, moving to grab for Kara before she realised that she was no longer being swept off her feet, “Oh hey it wore off. Maybe you didn’t have to hold me awkwardly that whole time…”  
Kara groaned, “That was so awkward!”  
Alex shrugged, walking over and grabbing a beer, “Just a little.”  
Kara was blushing heavily, “I’m so embarrassed I think I need to text her.”  
Alex simply put the beer bottle to her lips, taking a drink whilst staring at Kara.  
“Hey I said no drinking!” Kara tried to hide her blushing by directing the conversation at Alex.  
“You said no drinking till this is over, she isn’t floating anymore.” Alex kept her hand on the beer bottle, lifting a finger to point at Tess.  
Tess just grinned, still holding the side of Kara’s kitchen bench tightly just in case, “Sorry, weird question but why can’t she drink? Like do you have rules against that or…” Tess trailed off, watching Alex take another amused sip.  
“Because it’s beer.” Kara adjusted her glasses, finally no longer blushing.  
“I have no idea what beer is.”

Alex nearly choked on her drink, “Your earth did suck.” Getting off her chair Alex pushed her drink towards Tess.  
Kara’s hand shot forward, taking it away before Tess could even reach for it, “She’s 16 Alex! It’s just an alcoholic drink Tess.” Kara gave Alex a disapproving look and put the bottle down next to her.  
“Oh alcohol. Right I know what that is. Does that make you guys rich then?” Tess looked at Kara, genuinely curious.  
Kara just shook her head, chuckling slightly, “Not even close.” Nodding her head at the door Kara crossed her arms, “Lena is rich. We’re definitely not even close.”  
“Can I have my beer back?” Alex walked around, reaching for her drink.  
Kara just rolled her eyes, “Go for it Alex, and you Tess, you should be back at the DEO.”  
Tess’ face fell and she stared down at the table, “I guess so…”  
Kara put a hand on Tess’ shoulder, “Nothing personal I promise. But we’re both going to be in enough trouble as it is. The quicker we get you back the better it is for all of us.”  
Tess nodded in understanding, looking up at Kara and smiling, “I get it. Whatever you guys think is best.”  
“I can’t drink and drive, can you take her back Kara?” Alex stood up, putting her beer down.  
Kara just laughed, “Sure thing. I’ll do a sweep while I’m out.”  
“Good idea, I’m going to order pizza while you’re gone.”  
“Save some for me.” Kara raced into her room and came back seconds later in her Supergirl outfit.  
“And make the girl of steel hangry? Wouldn’t dream of it.” Alex smirked at Kara, who responded with poking her tongue out, before looking back at Tess, “While it did have its obvious problems, today was fun. We’ll do it again soon, on the record this time okay?”  
Tess’ beamed, “Next time on the record, got it.”  
With that Kara swept Tess off her feet, taking off out the window back to the DEO, leaving Alex alone with the exception of her beer.


	4. Chapter 4 - Power Trip

As soon as Lena had left Kara’s apartment she had just paused halfway down the hallway on her way out. She hadn’t realised it in the apartment, but now she’d clicked. Those eyes, those insanely bright blue eyes Kara’s cousin had were familiar. They looked exactly like the girl she’d helped Supergirl with on L-Corp’s roof just days earlier. But Lena knew that was impossible, the girl she’d helped on her roof was severely injured, a broken back and covered in bleeding wounds. Maybe if she’d met her months from now she’d believe they could be the same person, but such a recovery would be impossible so quickly. Even so, Lena couldn’t shake it, they were so brightly blue, so unique. Surely there were stranger things in the world than someone surviving such injuries. Supergirl existed after all, just the heroine herself disproved so many preconceived ideas people could have about the world. For now Lena just decided to shake the idea, she’d leave it for the moment, maybe next time Kara came to visit her in her office she’d ask a bit more. With a small shrug of her shoulders to herself, Lena exited Kara’s apartment building, stepping into her car.  
“Back home Miss Luthor?”  
Lena bit her lip, thinking for a moment, telling herself to just leave it. Her curiosity won out eventually, “Back to L-Corp please.”  
“Sure thing Miss Luthor.”

* * *

 Two weeks passed before Tess was allowed the privilege of even stepping outside of the DEO again. J’onn had snapped at both Alex and Kara when he learned that Alex had taken Tess outside without clearance. For all of the two weeks guards oversaw every interaction Tess had with Alex and Kara, ‘for security purposes’. Which was basically J’onn’s way of saying he was very disappointed in the both of them. Tess hadn’t been there for the fallout, when Kara had dropped her back she’d been escorted to her holding cell, it wasn’t until the next day she heard J’onn had snapped. So it took a week for her to be allowed to leave her holding cell, she was granted very limited internet privileges on a laptop during the week to learn about the new earth she was on. When she finally got to leave the cell other than to use the bathroom, she’d been ordered to report to Winn in one of the labs, getting escorted by one of the guards she’d had all week. It was a lucky break that this time she wasn’t in handcuffs.

Winn had greeted her enthusiastically, spinning around in his chair when her and the guard entered the room, “Hey Tess!”  
Tess smiled at him, entering the room and looking around, “Hi Winn. Nice to see you again.”  
Winn gestured at the chair he had next to him, “Take a seat and we’ll get straight into it.”  
Tess gave her guard one last look, realising he would be standing in the corner for the duration of her visit, before walking over to Winn. She pulled out the seat, sitting down next to Winn and taking in the room. Her suit was still hanging in the centre of the room, so close but yet still so far out of reach. Unfortunately she still hadn’t had an opportunity to recharge any of her powers, she had been stealing energy from the laptop she was given but her curiosity was greater than her need for her powers so she did so sparingly. Currently she was just charged enough to stop herself from feeling sick and tired, if she used her abilities now she’d only exhaust herself.

Winn noticed her staring at her suit, snapping his fingers in front of her eyes, “Hey. That’s not what we’re in here for. I’m not done with that baby yet anyways.”  
Tess jolted back into focus, turning back to look at Winn, “Sorry. I’m just missing it is all. I like my suit.”  
Winn grinned at her, “I like it too and I can’t even wear it.”  
Tess smirked, “Sorry, they were big on genetic mapping on my earth. Even if I let you attempt to put it on the suit would kick you out.”  
Winn’s mouth gaped open, “For real? I haven’t found that in the circuitry yet.”  
Tess nodded, her smirk still plastered on her face, “Yep.”  
Winn looked between Tess and the suit several times, “That’s so not fair.”  
The guard in the corner cleared his throat loudly, his expression disapproving.  
Tess folded her arms, leaning back in her chair, “Sorry, I didn’t make the rules so…”  
Winn grumbled to himself and looked back at his computer, “Still, stupid rules.”  
Tess chuckled to herself, winking at the guard in the corner before turning her attention back to Winn.

“Basically what we’re here for is to give you a new identity, there’s already a girl with your identity basically, another Tess if you will.” Winn’s fingers flew across his keyboard.  
“Really? There’s another me on this earth? Can I see?” Tess was intrigued, she leant forward, watching Winn’s computer.  
Winn shrugged, “I guess it can’t hurt.” Quickly typing in a few things Winn brought up a file on a civilian, another girl named Tess.  
Tess inhaled sharply in surprise, looking at the other version of her, “That’s weird…”  
Winn looked between Tess and the screen, watching her reaction, “It’s quite weird isn’t it.”  
“Does she have a family?” Tess’ expression remained neutral as she stared at the screen.  
Winn typed a few more things, watching as a picture of this other Tess’ family popped up.  
In front of Tess on the screen she saw the other version of her family, her smiling, happy, family. Her mum and dad were there, smiling happily, no angry scars or tortured wrinkles lined their faces. Only smile lines, and happy expressions. She was there too, well, the other her, also smiling and happy, with her arms around who she assumed was her little brother on this earth. She had a little brother on this earth. An adorable little brother who was beaming widely into the camera, his identical dark brown hair and bright blue eyes staring out at them while his arms wrapped the other Tess. He couldn’t have been more than six. Tess’ expression softened and tears started to build in her eyes as she saw the family she always wanted. A family that was actually happy.

Winn watched the changes in Tess’ expression before he thought he should get rid of the picture, “Um, sorry. I didn’t realise it would be so difficult to see.”  
Tess just shook her head, a few tears running down her cheeks, “No. Thank you for that. At least they’re happy here. That’s what matters.”  
Winn gave her a small smile before he changed subject completely, “So where do you want to be from?”  
Tess took a moment to understand, “Um. I don’t know any places here?”  
Winn nodded, “Of course, of course…”  
“Where’s a good place to be from? Do you guys have bias against people from different places here too?”  
Winn scoffed, “No earth is going to change that I don’t think. I think you could be from Metropolis. If you, Kara and Alex are saying you’re cousins it would make more sense if you were from somewhere close, and where their actual cousin lives, Metropolis.”  
“Okay, cool, so I’m Tess from Metropolis. That’s a start.” Tess leant forward, getting interested in this new identity.  
“It’s also pretty easy to remember, lots of people assume new people are from Metropolis anyways.” Winn started typing in the details. “We need to give you a new last name, I’m assuming your birthday is the same as this Tess’.”  
“I didn’t actually have a last name, except EM-107. Which doesn’t exactly have the same ring as Danvers or whatever.”  
“I don’t think we can call you a Danvers, even though we’re calling you cousins your looks are a bit different, a different name will help make that more believable.” Winn spun his chair to look at Tess again, “Any ideas?”

It took a few minutes for Tess to think, Winn entering in other details whilst she thought, “How about…”  
There was a long pause as Winn stared eagerly at Tess, long enough that Winn couldn’t wait any longer, “What?”  
Tess bit her lip and shrugged, “I honestly don’t know. I don’t know what would be a good last name. The only last names I know were from the rich on our earth and I sure as hell don’t want any of theirs.”  
Winn hummed to himself, “Fair enough. Okay. How about we do this…” Winn typed a few things in before a random name generator came up on the screen. Pausing it every few moments Winn grinned as it settled on one, “How about this?”  
“Tess Connors? It sounds alright I think. What do you think?”  
“I like it, I think it flows well off the tongue. It also means we can move on to creating the rest of your identity.” Winn entered the details into the system, “With a last name we’ve actually got most of the important info sorted out, we just need to work on the backstory now.”  
Tess leant back in her chair, letting out a big sigh, “That’s the difficult part…”

* * *

 They’d worked on the backstory for a few hours; Tess was Kara and Alex’s cousin on their mother’s side. They had always kept in touch, Kara and Alex with Tess at least, their mum’s had a falling out many years ago, meaning they never saw each other in person, hence the distinct lack of photos. She was born in Metropolis and had spent her first 13 years there before moving to Coast City, attending Coast City High. A house fire had killed Tess’ parents and due to having no other cousins she had come to National City, being put under Kara and Alex’s care. That was all they’d come up with currently, Winn had put in all the official details, but for now if anything else came up it was for Kara and Alex to discuss with Tess the extra details of everyday life.

When Winn had told Kara and Alex the details they were enthusiastic, taking in the info until they heard the last name Tess had been given.  
“Wait…Winn did you seriously give her _Sarah Connors_ last name, from _Terminator.”_ Alex glared at Winn.  
Winn shrugged, “It popped up on the name generator, it suited her name, it’s not like it was on purpose.”  
Kara punched Winn in the shoulder lightly, causing him to jump back and hold his arm defensively, “You’re unbelievable Winn.”  
Winn rubbed his arm, not that it hurt, “No need to punch me though! I couldn’t just name her Danvers.”  
Alex rolled her eyes, walking off, “Alright we’ll believe you Winn.”  
Kara giggled, following Alex, “If I didn’t have an article to write I’m not sure I’d so easily let you off the hook.”

* * *

 Less than an hour later, in her office Lena’s eyes were drawn to a pop-up in the corner of her screen. She paused reading one of her researcher’s proposals and clicked on the pop-up. It was a notification, telling her the algorithm she’d entered last week had picked up something. Last week she’d searched for Tess’ name in the government database, she’d only searched under ‘Danvers’ and had come up short. She’d moved onto appearance and age instead, trying to get the appearance as accurate as she could from the few moments she’d spent in Kara’s apartment. She’d come up with a match, but the girl that had come up, while looking identical it couldn’t possibly have been the same Tess, she didn’t have any proof but something in her gut just told her they couldn’t be the same. Now that she was staring at two identical Tess’ on her screen, she knew something was up. Aside from the first name and the appearance the two Tess’ had completely different histories. Lena narrowed her eyes at her screen, until her door opening interrupted her. She was about to complain to her assistant until Kara’s smiling face greeted her, she promptly closed her screen before smiling at Kara, “Kara! What a surprise to see you here!”  
“Sorry to drop in on you! I hope you don’t mind.” Kara adjusted her glasses nervously.  
Lena motioned for Kara to take a seat with a smile, “Not at all.”

* * *

 The second week of Tess’ lockdown had just involved a lot of testing, physical and medical. After the first week going past without issue they had finally allowed her to recharge some more of her abilities and use them under close supervision. Alex had been kind enough to hook her up to a billion machines before they allowed her to do anything, it was so Alex could ‘better understand’, or so she told Tess. Tess was a little sceptical but she went along with it, she had lasted a week without doing anything to break anyone’s trust, she wasn’t going to start now. With the ever-increasing visits from Kara and Alex, Tess finally was beginning to feel like she could belong on this earth and also beginning to feel like she could smile each day, something so unnatural but so welcome to her.

It was halfway through this week when Parasite showed up. The team, this time involving Tess, were meeting in the briefing room after he resurfaced.  
“We’ve pinpointed that Jones is after this man, Rand O’Reilly.”  
“This guy is dangerous, he drained my powers last time we fought.” Kara narrowed her eyes at the screens, crossing her arms over the emblem on her chest.  
“We can’t take that risk again; I’ll go with you this time. I’ll disguise myself as Rand and we can take him on together. Alex I want you and a strike team close by for backup.”  
“Hey, not that I’m doubting your abilities but don’t you think you could use some extra help?” Tess spoke up, standing in the middle of her escort.  
J’onn shook his head instantly, “No. You’re still on lockdown and it’s staying that way.”  
Tess rolled her eyes, “Suit yourself.”  
“J’onn, maybe we could use just another hand?” Kara tilted her head, giving J’onn a pleading look.  
“No. That’s my final answer.” J’onn didn’t give them a final look before walking off, waiting for Kara to follow them.  
Kara placed a hand on Tess’ shoulder, giving her a little smile, “Sorry kiddo.”  
Tess just sighed, “It’s fine. Be careful I guess.”  
Kara just nodded, turning and walking off after J’onn. Alex walked off after them, directing her strike team to mobilise.  
Tess dropped her hands to her side, sighing as she watched them all leave, “Bye guys…”

Just like Tess had thought it would, the operation went to hell. Parasite had pummelled Kara and J’onn before draining their powers. It had been difficult to watch and now Kara and J’onn were injured and in a whole lot of trouble. Tess had watched them wheeled in on stretchers, both of them looking in terrible shapes, like husks of themselves. Alex had run in after them, not even glancing in Tess’ direction as she followed after Kara and J’onn. Tess’ hands curled into fists, closing her eyes she tried to keep her anger under control. It frustrated her to no end. Constantly being kept inside unable to do anything. She just wanted to help and J’onn’s inability to see past his first impression of her was infuriating. Now he and Kara were half dead and Parasite was still on the loose. A guard nudged her in the shoulder with the tip of his rifle, breaking her out of her thoughts. Giving him a short glare she took one last look at Alex as she rushed around treating Kara and J’onn. Then she decided to go back to her sleeping quarters. At least they’d want her there.

* * *

 Alex didn’t come and see her afterwards, which she understood that Kara was her main priority but it still was a little upsetting as Tess sat alone on her bed all night. She was mulling over what had happened, thinking of what more she could have done to help. Unfortunately she realised that without breaking their trust once more she couldn’t have done anything. She only hoped that Parasite wouldn’t strike until the week was up. That way she could help and Kara and J’onn wouldn’t be out there alone. She hoped Kara was alright, earlier Kara had been angry about something, between Kara and Alex both of them weren’t themselves. Kara was angry and annoyed and Alex was…upset it seemed. She didn’t feel close enough to ask, but still she just wanted to do something to help. Instead she was stuck in the DEO, sitting on her hands all day. On that thought the lights in the room turned off, indicating it was lights out. She sighed, lying down and pulling up the blanket she had been given. She’d see how Kara was tomorrow and hope for the best.

* * *

 Kara had recovered more than J’onn come the next morning. She was still a little weak on her feet but she looked a hundred times better than she had the night before.  
Alex rushed over, putting a hand on Kara’s shoulder and the other on her chin, “Hey, how are you feeling?”  
Kara groaned and looked up at Alex, “I feel weak is what I feel.”  
Alex nodded, concern on her face, “I would expect so. I’m so glad you’re okay.” Alex gave Kara a tight hug, holding her sister close and letting out a sigh of relief.  
Kara hugged back tightly, her eyes closed as she took in the warmth of her sister. As she pulled back finally she noticed J’onn still unconscious, “J’onn! Is he okay!?”  
“M’Gann agreed to help me give him a blood transfusion, he should hopefully wake up soon.”  
Kara walked over, giving J’onn’s hand a squeeze, “We should have stopped him.”  
“Kara you can’t blame yourself for this, Parasite is extremely dangerous, it’s lucky you two survived.”  
“But he’s still on the loose, I have to go stop him.”  
Alex grabbed Kara’s arm before she could walk any further, “He hasn’t resurfaced yet, and when he does we’ll let you know. But right now I think you need a better plan about how to take him on.”  
“Alright…okay I’ll think of something.” Kara glanced back at J’onn, “I just wish J’onn could help too.”  
“He’ll be out there soon enough, I’m just not sure if it will be to fight Parasite.”

Kara was pacing the DEO, trying to come up with anything she could use against Parasite. She couldn’t get close to him otherwise this time she would be dead. Suddenly she was struck with an idea, who better to ask about draining power than their new resident. Kara burst into Tess’ sleeping quarters, jolting the girl awake. “Rise and shine!”  
“Wha-.” Tess looked up, her face twisting into a grin as she saw who it was, “You’re okay!”  
Kara nodded, “I’m feeling a bit better. I could actually use your help.”  
Tess stood up, clasping her hands together eagerly, “What do you need?”  
“I need you to tell me how much is too much for someone like you.”  
“Oh…like…food or what?”  
Kara chuckled, shaking her head, “Power. What does it take to ‘overload’ someone like you.”  
“Well it depends I guess. Do you guys have nuclear power here at all?”  
Kara nodded, “We’ve got a nuclear plant just outside National City.”  
“There’s your answer then. It still relies on how much the person can withstand personally, but I would say that anyone stupid enough to absorb a bunch of nuclear energy at once is just asking for things to go wrong.”  
Kara raced over the ideas in her head, her eyes darting around as she thought, “Alright. I can do this then.”

* * *

Parasite returned with a vengeance, tearing apart the streets of National City. Winn was nowhere to be found and Kara had raced off before Alex had a chance to discuss any sort of plan. Whilst externally Alex was keeping it together, internally she was a mess. With everything going on in her life, her newfound feelings about Maggie, her concern for J’onn and currently her concern for Kara she wasn’t in the best mindset.  
Tess rushed up behind Alex, she’d heard about Kara flying off to fight Parasite alone and she was worried, “Alex! Let me go help!”  
Alex snapped her head around, irritation on her face plain to see, “Not now Tess. Let Kara handle it. I trust her to do the right thing. “

“I can help Alex! Why can’t you see that!” Tess ignored Alex’s irritation, pushing still.  
“This isn’t about what you or I want Tess! J’onn may be incapacitated but I will stick to his orders and his orders are that you remain in the DEO. I don’t doubt that you could be useful but you are not cleared to leave and that’s that.” Alex stood over Tess, glaring down at her.  
Tess glared back, “You didn’t care when you took me out last time.”  
“Yeah well maybe last time was a mistake!” Alex didn’t even bother trying to soften that blow.  
Tess was shocked for a moment before regaining her composure, “Fine. Go ahead. If Kara gets hurt again see if I care.”  
“I do not have time for this Tess. Back off or I will make you.”  
“Screw you Alex.” Tess snarled.  
Alex rolled her eyes, “No screw you Tess. You don’t have any sort of say in how I run things so back off.”  
Tess looked away, avoiding Alex’s piercing gaze, “Fine.” Backing down and walking off, Tess shot a hole into the wall to her right, blasting out a chunk. She was over all of the red tape.

* * *

 Kara flew through the air at breakneck speed towards National City nuclear power plant. Alex’s voice buzzed in her ear as she sped through the air. Kara had just explained her plan to Alex and was set on her idea.  
“I do not support this plan.”  
Kara continued speeding through the sky, “It’s going to work!”  
“This is how Chernobyl happened!”  
“It won’t be Chernobyl! Trust me. Let’s see him drain this.” Kara actually smiled to herself, she was confident it would work but Alex’s concern was comforting. She knew exactly what to do and how to get far more power than Parasite could handle. She ducked into a reactor, briefly waving to one of the scientists before laying eyes on what she wanted. Grabbing two plutonium power cores she sped off again, back to National City to face Parasite. This time she was going to beat him, or die trying she guessed.

Supergirl arrived on the scene, slamming into Parasite and knocking him away from the figure in a silver suit and helmet that was taking a beating. She hovered in the air for a moment before gently lowering herself to the ground, taking in the scene of chaos before her. Most civilians were out of the way and two others were helping get others out of the way. She recognised Mon-El as one and the silver clad figure as the other. She had no idea who he was, but she felt a little proud seeing that Mon-El was finally helping out. Maybe her yelling at him earlier had helped. Her eyes snapped back to Parasite who had started to pick himself back up.  
“You want to change the world...and change is good when you finally become what you were meant to be. But you were never meant to become this.” Kara squared up to Parasite, holding the plutonium in her hand behind her back. “Last chance. Let me help you.”  
Parasite only let out a deep roar in return, charging towards her. Kara steeled herself as Parasite charged towards her, quickly placing a plutonium core in her other hand before meeting Parasite’s disfigured hands with her own, the plutonium cores separating her from touching him.  
Parasite’s head jerk back in pain, the energy from the cores surging into him. Kara stood her ground, watching the flow of seemingly endless energy into Parasite, “There is such a thing as too much power! Plutonium-239.” Kara watched as Parasite started to glow, jerking around uncontrollably, “I’m sorry…”  
She’d barely finished whispering her apology before Parasite exploded into a cloud of dust. Kara stumbled slightly, coughing as she inhaled the dust. It was finished, her plan had worked. Supergirl was once again National City’s hero, just this time with a little help from friends.

* * *

 As soon as Kara landed back in the DEO she was engulfed in a hug by Alex. “Hey! What’s the big deal.”  
Alex continued hugging her tightly, “I was worried about you.”  
“You don’t need to worry about me so much Alex. I’m Supergirl!”  
Alex forced a smile, “You may be the girl of steel but that doesn’t mean I can’t worry about you.”  
Kara pulled back from the hug, putting her hands on Alex’s shoulders, “How are things going back here? You seem tense.”  
“J’onn woke up, he’s doing better, I just have a lot on my mind Kara.” Alex put her hand to the bridge of her nose, sighing.  
“Is this to do with you coming out at all?”  
Alex waved Kara off, “A little but I think I’m just tired more than anything.”  
“Alright. As long as you’re okay. Remember I’m here for you for anything okay. Any time. Knock on my door at midnight if you want.” Kara looked at Alex sternly, forcing Alex to look at her.  
“Alright, alright. I get it. I think I am going to head home now anyway.” Alex started to walk back through the DEO to collect her things.  
“Do you want to have a late pizza night?”  
“I honestly just want to sleep Kara. How about tomorrow night?” Alex zipped up her jacket, grabbing her things.  
“Alright. Tomorrow night it is. I’m going to go thank Tess before I leave. She gave me the idea about the plutonium.”  
Alex rolled her eyes, “Of course she did.”  
Kara frowned at Alex’s reaction, last she checked Alex quite liked Tess, she shrugged it off, putting it down to Alex being tired, “Have a good night Alex.”  
“You too Kara.”

Tess was still taking her anger out on a training dummy when Kara found her. The dummy had various scorch marks on it that Kara could see and Kara made a mental note to never make Tess angry.  
“Hey. It worked!” Kara smiled as Tess finally paused as she saw her.  
Tess wiped her forehead, breathing heavily, “Told you. I’m glad it worked.”  
Kara glanced at the training dummy, cringing slightly as she imagined being on the receiving end of Tess’ training, “How did you know it would work.”  
Tess walked over to a drink bottle she had sitting near the side, taking a drink, before speaking with the lid half in her mouth still, “An enforcer in my class got chucked into a nuclear reactor when they went rogue. He had a choice of dying of radiation burns or dying of an overload. He went with the overload. It sort of stuck in my mind when they forced us all to watch it.”  
Kara’s mouth dropped open, stuttering as she tried to think of something to say in return, “Oh uh. Well...”  
“Yeah, I’ll say it again. My earth was majorly screwed up.” Tess chewed on the side of her drink bottle lid as she stared at Kara.

“Well…thank you for the idea I guess. I’m going to head home for the night now too. So I thought I’d say good night.”  
Tess gave Kara a mock salute, “Enjoy your freedom.”  
“Two more days Tess. Two more days and then you’re off lockdown. Then you can leave here.”  
“And come stay with my ‘cousins’?” Tess smirked, winking at Kara as she said it.  
“You bet.” Kara winked in return, “It’ll be over before you know it.” Stepping forward Kara pulled Tess into a hug, “If Alex said anything to upset you earlier I’m sorry. She’s going through a lot at the moment.”  
Tess sighed against Kara’s shoulder before slowing returning the hug, “Fair enough. I was being a jerk anyway.”  
“Once you get out we can sit down and actually have a long discussion about everything. But here is not the place.” Kara pulled back, her hands cupping Tess’ face in her hands, “Please trust that Alex still thinks you’re awesome and is secretly just jealous because she thinks you’ve got bigger muscles than her.”  
Tess couldn’t help but burst out laughing at that, “So that’s what she’s holding against me.”  
Kara laughed herself, enjoying the moment and grinning, “That’s definitely it. Anyways, have a good night Tess. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Hesitating for a moment, Kara placed a quick kiss on Tess’ forehead before turning and leaving.  
Tess was a little stunned for a moment, watching as Kara left. It took a few moments, but eventually she had a smile on her face, “You too Kara…”


	5. Chapter 5 - Home?

Tess was in her final 24 hours stuck in the DEO. Kara and Alex along with the rest of their crew were out catching up at the alien bar, which left Tess to her own devices. She was seated in Alex’s research lab, pulling up files of all the cases the DEO had closed in the past. Alex had given her access, J’onn hadn’t, but she didn’t give a damn what J’onn thought. So far she was sticking to the access Alex had granted her, but there was one file she was dying to open. Was it technically a breach of trust if she was just accessing her own file? Tess hovered over the file with her cursor for a few more seconds, biting the inside of her cheek before taking a look around. No one was watching. What the hell, she’d had a billion tests done in the short time she’d been here, she wanted to see if they’d found anything interesting.

Tess was knee-deep in her file, so engrossed that she’d forgotten to pay attention to the rest of the world. The hand on her shoulder jolted her from the screen, causing her to spin and come face to face with Alex.  
“You literally have less than 24 hours left before you can be cleared Tess and you’re going to screw it up now?” Alex glared at Tess, her eyes darting between the screen and Tess’ wide eyes.  
“I thought I had access?” Tess tried to give Alex a small smile.  
“You know exactly what I gave you access to Tess, your own file was not one of those things. Get out of my office now before I decide to tell J’onn.”  
Tess stood up, walking towards the door before she paused, “Alex…”  
Alex took a deep breath, trying to calm her reaction, “What Tess?”  
“I’m sorry for screwing up. For everything I’ve done since I’ve got here. I feel all I’ve done is hurt or disappoint you so far. You saved my life and I haven’t done anything but be ungrateful. This is all new and that’s not an excuse…but I…I’m sorry for being a jerk.”

Alex’s face softened and her shoulders relaxed, “It’s fine Tess. You’re young and impulsive. Hell, I was at your age. I’ve just got a lot going on…my head is a mess. It’s not you.”  
“Kara said that. I thought she was just trying to make me feel better.”  
“Of course Kara did.” Alex muttered to herself.  
“I want to help out. I really do. I have an opportunity to be better here, one that I never had. I’m not used to so much freedom, even if I have been stuck in here. I get twitchy if I haven’t worn my suit in a while. Twitchy and impulsive.”  
Alex sighed, “You’ll get your suit back soon. Just promise me you’ll be better from then on.”  
“I promise. I really do.” The corner’s of Tess’ mouth curled into a small smirk.  
“Good, otherwise you’re not staying at my place.” Alex smirked, shutting down her computer briskly walking past Tess.  
“Wait I’m staying with you?” Tess’ face lit up at the prospects of not being forced to sleep at the DEO like Mon-El had been, not that she’d seen him since a day or so ago. She assumed Kara and the rest of team knew what he was up to.

* * *

It felt like it had been years since Tess stepped foot outside, and now finally today was the day. After Cadmus had kidnapped Mon-El and Kara her release had been delayed until Kara had recovered. She hadn’t convinced them that if she’d already been released she might have been able to help. But she hoped that would change, at present it almost felt like Kara was more excited than her, they were probably both just as excited as each other, just Kara was visibly excited. The plan from here was that Tess would be staying in Kara’s apartment mainly but Tess would alternate to Alex’s apartment as necessary. For now Tess was just trying to adjust to living with Kara. Alex had tasked her with keeping a close eye on Kara after her run in with Cadmus. Kara was currently excitedly showing Tess around her apartment, Tess was smiling, not really listening, but she’d never felt so welcome before in her life. Kara directed her to the couch she’d be sleeping on until they could come up with something more permanent. Tess sunk into it; it would be comfy enough for now.

“Now I’ve got one more surprise.” Kara clapped her hands together, grinning from ear to ear.  
“I’m listening?” Tess was intrigued, she didn’t know what classified as a surprise here yet.  
Kara sped to her bedroom and back before Tess could even blink, a box in her outstretched hands.  
“Is this for me?” Tess leant forward, reaching for the box.  
Kara handed it over nodding, still grinning, “Look inside.”  
Tess opened the lid, her face changing from curiosity to joy as she reached inside, “My suit!”  
Within seconds Tess was upright and her clothes had changed, being replaced by the suit which had instantly shifted and reformed on her figure.  
“Winn made some changes. He hopes you like the design. “Kara turned Tess to look in the mirror in the corner of the room.

Tess’ jaw dropped as she took in her new suit. The original black remained, shimmering almost like a dark blue, set off by white highlights running down the sides of her arms and legs. The highlights dipped down across her collarbones crossing over her chest and meeting at her hips to merge with the highlights on her legs, ending at her ankles. Like Kara’s suit her hands were free with the exception of the material looping round her thumbs. Tess just stood, staring at herself, it wasn’t vastly different from her original suit, but it wasn’t marred by a impersonal designation. She owned it now, it didn’t own her.  
“What do you think?” Kara waited patiently for Tess, watching the wonder in the girl’s eyes.  
“I love it. I think it needs a test run though. Up for a late night flight?” Tess looked pleadingly at Kara.  
Kara just smiled, changing into Supergirl in a flash, “I think so.” Kara leapt out her window, speeding off into the sky.  
Tess took a deep breath, drawing from the building’s power supply, the energy causing her suits highlights to glow a bright white. Then she shot into the sky after Kara, leaving a trail across the night sky. A trail that didn’t go unnoticed by those watching the skies.

* * *

Whilst Kara was a practically perfect roommate, the DEO had placed strict rules on Tess, with both having hell to pay if they were broken. But in saying that, Tess just couldn’t help breaking rules she thought were pointless. She’d done her duty of checking on Kara before she’d left the apartment, watching Kara sleep for just a few moments; she was still there, safe and still breathing. So now while Kara slept, Tess was going for a run.

It was early, 5am to be precise; she knew it was going to be a while still before Kara woke up. Tess took a deep breath, taking in the fresh air; it was incredible on this earth. It never felt so good to just stand and admire the view. It felt nice to actually be able to go for a run in an unconfined area. Sure the phone she’d been given was tracking her in her pocket, but she was still free to do as she pleased. She’d been living with Kara for the past two weeks, sleeping out on the couch while they all tried to figure out a more permanent solution. It was comfy, comfier than the old bed she’d had, but still she woke up with a kink in her neck every morning. It was difficult, with everything going on in Kara and Alex’s lives. But she was just grateful she wasn’t still stuck in the DEO, constantly being watched every second of every hour of every day. She still hadn’t forgiven J’onn for that.

Kara had been busy with work and Supergirl in the two weeks she’d been free so far, and if Supergirl was busy, so was Alex unfortunately. Especially after the Cadmus incident and revelations that Alex and Kara’s dad was alive. Alex’s time had been spent either trying to find Cadmus’ new base of operations or spent with Maggie. Tess had barely seen half the city because she still wasn’t supposed to go out on her own exactly, a difficult rule with her two custodians so preoccupied. But she really just wanted to get into her old routine, so she had decided to do a little exploring of the city before everyone came out and things became busy. She planned to be back before Kara was awake, which as long as she didn’t get lost that wouldn’t be an issue. Kara was Supergirl but her super powers didn’t include waking up early. She’d still have at least 3 hours to get back home and right now she was going to enjoy herself. She was finding it fascinating seeing the city slowing coming alive, there were a few cars on the roads, but not many and practically everything was shut. It was so different to her earth, but she liked it a hell of a lot more.

Currently she was just outside L-Corp plaza, catching her breath back, she was a little off her game. Whilst she healed fast, it still took a while for everything to settle back into the right place, especially when she hadn’t been able to use her powers completely for the last month. She leant back against one of the pillars, looking up at L-Corp until she was dragged from her thoughts by a car pulling up. She looked down, noting the sleek black Mercedes pull up on L-Corp’s doorstep. A man got out the front seat, shooting her a suspicious look before he walked to the back door, opening it. Tess watched as a set of sleek legs slid out, two pairs of high heels landing on the pavement outside. The man reached in, giving a helping hand to the woman who promptly stood up, her gaze instantly landing on Tess.  
Tess narrowed her eyes momentarily before she realised it was the woman she’d met a few weeks back, Lena Luthor. She could see the man whispering in Lena’s ear, but when Lena laid eyes on her she simply waved him off, watching him drive off before walking over to Tess.  
Tess smiled awkwardly as Lena made her way over.

“Isn’t it a bit early for you to be up?” Lena smirked as she took in Tess’ attire. The teen was wearing a crop top and shorts, with a jacket tied around her waist, along with a bright pair of sneakers. Lena glanced briefly at the teen’s figure, noting the teen’s muscle definition and scars and trying not to stare. Lena’s mind wandered, trying to search her mind for the type of scars present, she knew they weren’t surgical scars at the very least. Lena pushed the thought away, her curiosity once again sparked by the girl before refocusing her attention, looking into the girls sparking blue eyes that were darting around, avoiding eye contact. Those all too familiar blue eyes.

“It’s Tess right?” Lena quirked an eyebrow, awaiting confirmation.  
Tess rubbed the back of her head, feeling rather exposed as she noticed Lena’s raised eyebrow as she looked her up and down, “Uh yeah. I’m Tess, and you’re Lena right? I thought I’d go for a run before Kara woke up. Wait, you don’t come in to work this early every day do you?”  
Lena chuckled, “Lena it is. And no, I’m not a fan of very early mornings, so this certainly doesn’t happen all the time, only when I have something important I’m working on. Surely you yourself don’t do this everyday? Are you on an athletics team or something with your school?”  
Tess just held her mouth open, her face scrunching in confusion, “Athletics team?”  
Lena raised her eyebrow once more, directing her gaze to Tess’ midsection for an instant, “Please tell me you’re part of something and you don’t do this for fun, otherwise I’m going to feel very self-conscious about myself.”  
Tess looked down at herself, “Ohhh right. Um yeah, no I um…I’m part of a…a…swim team.” Tess technically often did swim on her old earth, each time they were forced to do 50 laps as punishment. She almost shuddered at the memory, but she’d already said it so hopefully Lena would buy it.  
Lena just pursed her lips, humming in acknowledgement to herself, she made a mental note to stop putting the girl on the spot, “Well I’m sure you’ll soon be smashing records with that dedication.”  
Tess just laughed it off, still scratching the back of her head with one arm and covering her midsection with the other arm, “Thanks. I guess I’ll let you get to work. I’ll just keep…running.”

Tess brushed past Lena, starting to move off before she abruptly stopped. Lena turned to say goodbye but the words stopped in her throat before they left her mouth.  
A man in a hood was standing in front of Tess, pointing a gun at the teen’s chest, then swiftly swinging to point at Lena.  
Lena just shook her head, rolling her eyes, “What do you want? Money?”  
The man nodded, “Yeah. Hand it over babe.”  
Lena scoffed, reaching into her bag for her pepper spray, “I’m not your anything creep.”  
Tess glanced over at Lena, watching as the woman refused to back down or even give a hint of being scared.  
“Honestly I feel pretty bad for you because you chose the wrong person to try and mug.” Lena pouted at the man, looking sorry for him.  
The man frowned, getting angry, “What the hell are you on about.”  
Tess rolled her eyes, adjusting her posture ever so slightly before her foot snapped out, catching the man in the wrist and knocking the gun out of his hand. Before he even had a chance to react her foot lashed out again, slamming into the side of his head, knocking him out cold.  
Lena was stunned for a moment, her jaw hanging open as she looked down at the man who was now on the ground.

Tess smirked to herself, kneeling down and grabbing the mugger by the scruff of his collar, pulling him up so he was face to face to her. “Definitely the wrong person to mug buddy.”  
The mugger struggled in her arms, squirming to get away before Tess threw him back to the ground. As soon as he could he scrambled to his feet and ran away.  
Lena was just watching, her mouth open in a little shock, “What the hell do they teach people on the swim team these days?”  
Tess’ eyes widened as she returned to the present, she’d completely forgotten Lena was by her side this whole time. “Uh, I take self defence classes as well.”  
“Well, they certainly paid off. That was incredible.” Lena readjusted her composure, looking off in the direction the would be mugger took off in.  
“Thanks…are you alright?” Tess looked Lena over, noticing the CEO still looked very composed.  
Lena nodded, “I’m perfectly fine thanks to you.”  
“Well I’m glad to hear that. I guess I should actually get going now.” Tess took her jacket off her waist, pulling it on before turning to jog off again when Lena’s hand shot out and grabbed her forearm.  
As Tess turned Lena quickly let go, “Sorry, do you actually have anywhere to be Tess?”  
“Not really? I was just going to finish my run.”  
“Do you want to come inside for a while?” Lena cocked her head towards L-Corp, “I could give you a tour? A small thank you present.”  
Tess looked up at L-Corp towering above them, to be honest she was curious. She checked the time on her phone, it was still only 5:15am. She shrugged before giving Lena a smile, “Actually, I would love that.”  
Lena smiled in return, “Well, right this way.”

* * *

Lena gave Tess a thorough tour of the L-Corp facilities, ending with the two of them in Lena’s office, sitting on the couch in Lena’s office.  
Jess, Lena’s secretary, knocked and opened the door, interrupting the two, “Miss Luthor, your delivery.” Jess held out a bag for Lena, smiling politely at the two.  
Lena took the bag from Jess, nodding for Jess to leave, “Sorry I should have asked beforehand, I just assumed because you’re related to Kara.”  
Tess wasn’t following, “You should have asked what?”  
“Whether you liked donuts of course.” Lena opened the bag, holding it out for Tess. “Or as Kara calls them, ‘fried, sugary goodness’.”  
Tess looked sceptical but she reached in anyway, taking a donut, “I’ve uh, never had one before to be honest.”  
“You’ve been with Kara for what, a month now and you’re telling me she hasn’t gotten you donuts this whole time?” Lena looked genuinely shocked.  
Tess turned the donut over in her hands, staring at it, “No, things have been a bit…chaotic.”  
“Surely you’ve seen one before though right? I mean maybe it’s believable with your figure that you’ve never had one but still.” Lena took a bit of hers, watching Tess.  
“Honestly no, I guess my parents were way too strict!” Tess gave a fake laugh before taking a bite and averting her gaze.

Still Lena caught the sudden drop in the girls demeanour, the sparkling in her eyes disappearing for a moment before it returned as Tess’ eyes widened in delight.  
“This. Is. Incredible.” Tess all but moaned, covering her mouth embarrassed, “Sorry, wow this is so good.”  
Lena laughed, “I can’t believe Kara’s deprived you of the joys of donuts.”  
“Now I know what to request for breakfast. These are way better than pancakes.” Tess laughed, taking another bite, enjoying it thoroughly.  
“How long are you staying with Kara for exactly?” Lena continued to watch Tess, taking a bite of her own donut.  
Pausing, Tess swallowed the bite she’d taken, “Um…indefinitely for now. Things are a bit complicated, and well, chaotic.” Tess shrugged, looking at Lena, whose gaze was intently focussed on her.  
“If you don’t mind me asking, any particular reason why?” Once again Lena saw the shift in Tess’ body language as she asked. “I don’t mean to be nosy. Don’t answer if you don’t want to, Tess.”  
Tess waved it off, “It’s fine. I’m sure Kara will tell you eventually so I might as well tell you myself. I came here so abruptly because,” Tess held back tears, taking a deep breath, even if the story wasn’t true the pain was, “my parent’s died when our house caught fire. That’s why I showed up so quickly, I’ve barely had anything to do with Kara and Alex in my life but I don’t have any closer relatives.”  
Lena placed a hand on Tess’ knee, she could have sworn she’d felt a small shock of electricity, “I’m so sorry. That must have been horrible.”  
Tess nodded, taking a deep breath and wiping her eyes, “It’s not a great feeling.”  
Lena was about to speak when their door burst open, Kara’s flustered gaze meeting hers.

* * *

Tess stood up before Lena could even blink, “Kara!?”  
Kara looked like she could explode, in anger and relief, “Tess! I didn’t know where you went, you didn’t leave a note or anything!.”  
Lena stood up, brushing off herself, “Kara, sorry I didn’t realise you didn’t know she was here.”  
Kara adjusted her glasses, “Lena, sorry to barge in. I just- Tess you know what the rules are.” Kara took in the scene in front of her, Tess’ eyes looked red, Lena looked a little regretful and she could smell donuts. “Sorry what did I walk in on? Why are you even here Tess?”  
Tess opened her mouth to speak but Lena cut her off, “This is all my fault Kara. I invited her in after she practically saved my life this morning.”  
For a moment Kara was taken aback before she regained her composure, “Saved your life? What do you mean? Are either of you hurt?”  
Lena shook her head, “Tess fought off a mugger this morning. He tried to rob us and she just took him out without hesitation. It was rather incredible Kara.”  
Kara nodded, biting her bottom lip as she looked at Lena,  
Tess wiped her eyes before fixing her gaze on Kara, “Hear that, Kara? Rather incredible.”  
“Tess. I think you should could home, and we can talk about this.” Kara gave a forced smile, staring at Tess.

Lena watched the interaction, her lips pursed as she refrained from interrupting. It was hard to see any sort of familial bond between the two.  
“Don’t you have work, Kara? Aren’t you supposed to be there instead of running around after me?” Tess rolled her eyes, wiping her hands on her shorts.  
“That’s not the point Tess! You can’t just take off in the morning without saying anything!” Kara was no longer faking a smile, her forehead crinkled in anger.  
“Well it was the first morning I didn’t wake you up screaming so I thought I’d let you sleep in! I was just being considerate!” Tess scowled at Kara.  
“You know what the rules are! You can’t just leave by yourself!”  
“So what am I your prisoner or something? It was just a morning run, I wasn’t going off doing something stupid, Kara. I’m not an idiot you know!”  
Kara stepped forward, about to open her mouth when Lena interrupted, placing a hand on Kara’s shoulder, “Kara I think we should just cut this off here, okay? Whatever is going on between you too obviously needs sorting, but as much as you’re my best friend Kara that can’t be in my office.”  
Kara’s expression changed instantly, reining herself back in and taking a deep breath, somewhat embarrassed, “I am…so sorry Lena. This should have never happened in your office. Let alone in front of you at all. Tess can you go wait down in the foyer please?” Kara looked pleadingly at Tess, the anger between the two dissipating.  
Tess sighed and nodded, “Okay. Thanks so much for the tour Lena, and the donuts. They were both amazing. Sorry about…all that.”  
Lena glanced at Kara, before giving Tess a smile, “It was my pleasure. I hope you two can sort things out and then I look forward to seeing you around a bit more Tess.”

* * *

 As soon as Tess left the room Kara let out a deep sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose in thought, “I am so, so sorry, Lena. I can’t believe that just happened in front of you I am so embarrassed.”  
Lena put a hand on Kara’s shoulder, “Hey, I get it. Things aren’t ideal right now. You barely know each other you don’t have to instantly like each other just because you’re family.”  
Kara could have sworn that Lena put a certain inference on the word ‘family’, like Lena was almost amused to use the word. “Still, the arguments should happen at home not in your office.”  
Lena shrugged, giving Kara a reassuring smile, “Every family has issues. I was beginning to think you were too perfect Kara. In a selfish way I’m kind of glad to see that you’re not.”  
Kara looked down, her eyes darting around the room, the crinkle between her eyebrows noticeably present.  
“Are you okay, Kara?” Lena’s tone was full of genuine concern as she looked at Kara, trying to get her to open up.  
Kara sighed, shrugging her shoulders, “I’m just still getting used to it. She’s…difficult at times. I mean she was right it’s the first morning I’ve actually slept in till my alarm without her waking me up but…do you think I’m being too harsh?”

“She is a teenager, and from what she said she’d been through I think she has some right to feel the way she does. In her position I’m sure she just feels angry at the world in general. It’s not all directed at you but unfortunately you’re one of the only people she has left to yell at, Kara. You can’t boss teenagers around at the best of times, let alone after a trauma like that.”  
Kara nodded as Lena spoke, feeling a twinge of guilt, “You’re right. I guess I can’t. I just…everything happened so fast. I didn’t expect to have a teenager to look after a month ago, now here I am.”  
“Just give her some space Kara, take her out more, give her donuts,” Lena nodded towards the bag left from before, “let her figure out who she is now. She’ll warm up to you eventually. You’re Kara Danvers after all, who wouldn’t like you?”  
Kara smiled and laughed at that, “I wish my boss felt the same way.”  
Lena chuckled, glad to see Kara’s beaming smile again, “Well your boss doesn’t know what he’s missing out on.”  
“Thanks Lena. I really appreciate it.”  
Lena stepped forward, hugging Kara, “Anytime. Well, please no family arguments in my office again. But I’m here if you need alright.”  
Kara hugged back tightly, “I’ll try not to.”  
Lena pulled back, walking over to the leftover donut bag, “There’s one left. Would you like it as a parting gift?”  
Kara’s face lit up as she nudged her glasses back up her nose, “Well, if you insist.”  
Lena laughed again, handing the bag to Kara, “Enjoy it. I’ll see you again soon I’m sure.”  
Kara nodded in agreement, “It will be soon I’m sure. Thanks again.”

* * *

Kara took the elevator back downstairs, finishing the rest of her donut as the elevator doors opened to the L-Corp foyer. Her eyes quickly scanned the foyer and for a fleeting moment she thought she couldn’t see Tess, until she noticed the girl leaning against the wall near the revolving doors. She started to storm over until she stopped halfway, composing herself and straightening her shirt, taking a deep breath as she took the anger off her face. “Tess.”  
Tess jumped at Kara’s sudden appearance, “Kara.”  
“That was…all totally on me in there.” Kara shook her head, “I’m sorry just after Cadmus I freaked out...”  
Tess remained silent, looking around at the bustling staff entering and exiting L-Corp before eventually looking back at Kara, “I think we should talk outside.”  
Kara adjusted her glasses, “I think that’s a good idea.” Kara put an arm around Tess’ shoulder, walking out through the revolving doors of L-Corp and then down the steps leading out of the building.  
“It wasn’t all your fault in there. In fact it was mostly mine.” Tess swallowed the lump in her throat, as she looked up at Kara.  
Kara shook her head, “I think we were both equally at fault. I barged in and just assumed the worst of you.”  
“I guess you kind of did…but I don’t think you’re wrong exactly. I shouldn’t have done it after what happened.” Tess looked around now that they were finally in a somewhat quiet area, “I’m sorry for being so angry. I just…this whole situation is so strange.”  
“You can say that again.”

“I’m just. Honestly I don’t even know who I am anymore, Kara. This earth is just so _emotional_. I’m so emotional. I’ve cried more times in the past month then I’ve cried in my life and it makes me angry at myself. It doesn’t make sense but I am. I feel like a completely different person here and I don’t know whether the real me is the Tess I am here or the Tess I was back there. Just everyone here is so _cheery_ , they smile so much at pointless things, you give hugs out like they don’t mean anything and just everyone is so nice. Hell even the mugger earlier was nicer than the ones back home.”  
Kara put her hands on Tess’ shoulders, making the girl look up at her, “Hey, emotions are a part of life. An earth without emotion isn’t a real one, it’s just a world full of robots. We smile so much here because we can, we have so much we can all be thankful for, even the little things. Sure I’m one of those annoying people that smiles at everything but I have so much I can smile at I don’t think that rude or mean people should be able to take that away. Emotions make us human, the real you is the you that feels what you want to when you want to. The Tess that can smile and laugh and cry and all those things because it’s what you feel in the moment, not because your emotions are being controlled by someone else.”  
Tess smiled up at Kara, fighting back tears, “And hugs?”  
Kara smiled and pulled Tess into a tight hug, “Hugs are because sometimes we all need a little bit of help holding ourselves together. That’s what friends and family are for; we help each other out because we all love each other.”  
Tess wrapped her arms around Kara just as tight, burying her face in Kara’s shoulder as she cried.  
Kara ran her hand through Tess’ hair, holding her tight, “I’ve got you. I promise.”


	6. Chapter 6 - Family First

Not long after their mini-bonding session, what Kara referred to as the ‘L-Corp Incident’, Tess finally was taken off her close-watch. She was still being tracked through her phone, but now she was allowed to be by herself outside of the DEO and Kara and Alex’s apartment. In fact, she was actually in the process of making her way to Alex’s apartment for the night, taking a gentle flight through the early evening. Kara was caught up at the DEO, some emergency that had been harder than expected to contain. Tess was lost in thought when her phone rang, she ducked down to the nearest roof, landing on the ledge. Her suit rearranged itself, granting access to the pocket of her jeans underneath where she was keeping her phone. Kara kept saying she was jealous of her suit, whilst super speed meant it took less than a second for Kara to change her clothes, Tess didn’t need to get changed at all. Whenever she wanted, her suit would form over her clothes and re-materialise her outfit unscathed after she was done fighting crime.

Alex’s face popped up on her phone and she swiped to answer. “Alex? What’s up?”  
“Tess, I need a favour, we’re getting reports of someone destroying a warehouse with some kind of energy weapon. Kara and J’onn are busy and given the circumstances I thought your powers might come in handy.”  
“I’m getting my own mission?!” Tess tried to contain her excitement.  
“That’s what I’m saying, I want you to check in as soon you finish up and then come to my apartment. I’m sending the location to your phone right now. National City’s newest hero is needed.”  
“Of course, you can trust me! I’ll see you soon!” Tess was ecstatic.  
“Go get ‘em Surge.”  
Tess was grinning now as she hung up. Alex had even used her new codename. Winn had coined it and it had stuck, Surge was her new name for the public. The location Alex had sent her was sitting at the top of her phone screen. Taking a brief look at the location, Tess put her phone back in her pocket, leaping up into the sky and speeding towards the incident.

* * *

Tess landed at the location, touching down with barely a sound. She double-checked her phone before looking around. There was nothing here, there was a warehouse, but she’d scanned the perimeter beforehand and come up with nothing. Now she was inside, but it was so dark she could barely see a thing. She concentrated and formed a ball of electrical energy in her palm, shooting it up towards the ceiling and creating a small blast of light. She could have sworn she saw something move but the light fizzled out before she could see much else. Before she could even react the wind was knocked out of her, the warehouse lights turned on in a blaze and she found herself surrounded by armed assailants. She quickly recovered her footing, charging up her powers before a wave of pain took over her body. She dropped to the ground gasping, she felt like she had no energy left, but that was impossible. She struggled to get to her feet but a single bullet grazed her shin, forcing her to drop once more. Another wave of pain washed over her, this time causing her to writhe on the ground in pain. Her suit failed, dematerialising and leaving her in her civilian clothes. She didn’t understand what the hell was going on. She was yelling in agony when she was met with a figure shading her from the light.  
“I was hoping they’d send you. I thought with your abilities they’d believe you a better choice than Supergirl. Now you can finally show me where you’ve come from.”  
Tess stared up at the woman, confused before a final wave of pain washed over her, this time too much for her to bare. Lillian Luthor’s face was the last image etched into her mind.

* * *

Tess woke up feeling exhausted; she tried to move before reality set in. She was strapped to a bed, her arms outstretched and rotated for ease of access to the large intravenous cannula’s placed in both arms. She lifted up her head, looking around the room, it was dark except for the bright light shining directly above her head. She could see several IV bags full of her blood sitting to the side, with another one filling up on her right side. The other side had a clear fluid running, with another separate IV bag full of milky fluid primed and ready to go.  
“We’re nearly done with you already. I didn’t realise draining your powers would leave you so out of it, Tess.”  
Tess’ head snapped to the source of the voice. Lillian Luthor’s piercing eyes met her own, staring into her soul. “How do you know my name? What the hell do you want with all of that?”  
“Well we’ve already determined you’re not an alien, your abilities are fascinating for a human, especially someone so young. We’d love to repurpose your genetics to aid in our fight.” Lillian traced a finger down Tess’ cheek, smiling as Tess tried to pull away.

“You didn’t answer my question. How do you know who I am Lillian?” Tess swallowed down the bile rising in her throat as Lillian got closer. She’d been reading up on the DEO’s files on Cadmus and thus had seen Lillian’s face in many of the files.  
“Well if you know my name it’s fair game. It’s no secret honey, we tapped your phone, Alex Danvers helped us put the final puzzle piece in place.” Lillian disconnected Tess’ left IV, the clear fluid dripping onto the floor instead of into Tess’ arm.

“She’ll find you. Alex will. She’ll find you and she’ll save her dad and she’ll tear Cadmus apart. I’m going to get out of here and I’ll lead her straight to you.”  
Lillian just shrugged, flipping a switch behind Tess’ head, watching her start to writhe in pain once more as a device drained the last of the energy Tess had left. “I doubt it dear. You’re not going to remember this. I look forward to our next meeting.” Lillian just smiled at Tess, connecting the milky fluid to Tess’ IV and letting it flow at its fastest rate as Tess continued to struggle in pain.  
Tess closed her eyes, desperately trying to shut out the pain and fuzziness that was quickly overtaking her thoughts. All she had to remember was the name ‘Lillian Luthor’. She repeated it over and over until eventually she gave into the fuzziness.

* * *

 Alex was pacing her apartment, Tess had been gone for hours, the job shouldn’t have taken more than an hour total. She had already called Kara who was finally finished with the emergency at the DEO. But Alex was worried she’d just caused another emergency. Alex was mentally running over every scenario when Kara finally flew into her window.  
“Alex! I got your call, what’s going on? It’s so late!” Kara moved to Alex, placing a hand on her shoulder to stop her from pacing anymore.  
“It’s Tess. I screwed up. Really bad.” Alex nervously bit her lip, looking at Kara with concern.  
“Alright what’s going on? Where is she?” Kara scanned the room, frowning as she noticed the empty couch made up with an untouched blanket and pillow.  
“That’s the problem. I sent her on a mission I shouldn’t have. I just assigned her I thought she was fine with it and the DEO was too busy but now she hasn’t checked in and it’s been hours!” Alex rattled off the details, talking so fast even Kara could barely keep up.  
“Okay we can fix this, where did you send her? Can’t we track her phone?”  
“I know where her phone last was…it went offline a while ago.” Alex shook her head, looking away from Kara.  
Kara took a deep breath, “Alright, we need to go now then.”  
Alex nodded, “She was near Wake St, I’m set.”  
Kara righted herself, wrapping a hand around Alex’s arm before the two of them flew up into the sky.

They’d scanned the warehouse Alex had sent Tess to for at least an hour but they fallen short. It was almost midnight already and they’d had no luck. All they’d done is confirm their fears, something had happened to Tess, and as far as Alex was concerned, it was all her fault.  
Kara spoke up, “I’ll scan the city, every inch.”  
“That could take hours.” Alex was pacing, trying to come up with a plan.  
“We have to try everything until J’onn and the DEO are our last resort.” Kara crinkled her brow, distressed at seeing Alex so worried,  
“I’m going to go question some of our usual sources of information, see if anyone knows anything, after that we’ll have to get J’onn and the DEO involved. This is all my damn fault.” Alex kicked the ground, frustrated at herself.  
“It’s not your fault, you didn’t know something would go wrong. We’ll find her Alex. I know we will, let’s just give this a try.” Kara tried to give Alex a reassuring look.  
Alex took a deep breath, “You’re right. Okay let’s do this and hope for the best. Be safe.”  
“You too Alex.” Kara gave Alex a quick hug and a final nod before launching herself into the sky, soaring up high above the city.

* * *

When Tess woke up it was dark, damp and something smelt off. She groaned, her lip was stinging, as was the whole side of her face. She tasted blood and gagged as she choked on her own blood for a few moments. Her chest was aching, every breath hurt and when she finally managed to push herself into a kneeling position her vision swam. The only word going through her mind was ‘Luthor’, she didn’t understand, what did Lena have to do with her current situation. The t-shirt she was wearing was ripped, torn in several places and her phone was gone along with her jeans, she was standing in her underwear instead, her t-shirt barely covering her up. She didn’t know what time it was or anything, how long was she gone. Where did she go anyway? Who beat her so bad? She felt so drained she could hardly concentrate and waves of nausea kept hitting her over and over. She didn’t even know where she was, without her phone she didn’t know where to go. She looked up and around, trying to orientate herself. Luckily she found one place to go. Maybe it would even answer some questions. After all the towering L-Corp logo was just a block away and Lena’s floor was illuminated.

Tess dragged herself to the outside of L-Corp, looking up at the imposing building, there was a security guard sitting inside the foyer. She thumped her fist against one of the glass doors, hoping to catch his attention. She wanted to just fly up to Lena’s office balcony and wait until she appeared. Unfortunately the attempt she’d made to gain some energy from a streetlight had just caused her body to violently react into a fit of vomiting and coughing, furthering the pain. Whatever she was drugged with it was leaving her powers on the fritz. Luckily the security guard came to the door, shining his flashlight on her face. She grimaced, wincing as the light burnt her retina’s and she spoke up “Can I please see Lena.”  
“It’s 2am in the morning miss! I don’t know what happened to you but Miss Luthor is not here and I wouldn’t let you in anyway!”  
“Please I know her, it’s urgent, just call her please.” Tess shivered in the cold, the dampness of her clothes settling into her skin.  
“Get lost kid, go to the hospital!” The security guard yelled at her, glaring as he did.  
“Please! Just call! Isn’t her floor still lit anyway? Is she still in? She knows me just tell her it’s Tess and it’s urgent. Just try please if she doesn’t answer I’ll leave I promise.” Tess pleaded with the guard, she felt so close to passing out she needed to get out of the cold.  
The guard glared at her, until he pulled out his radio, speaking quietly into the device. A few seconds passed before he grumpily unlocked the door, letting Tess in. “I’ll take you up.”

Tess was using the last of her energy to remain standing in the elevator with the security guard. She was so close, she just needed to get into Lena’s office. She was unbelievably lucky that Lena was still in at work so late. The elevator doors opened, and the guard watched her as she slowly walked the steps towards Lena’s door. She was a mess she didn’t know how Lena would react, she still barely knew the woman but surely saving her from being mugged counted for something. She opened the door, a weight lifting off her chest as she saw Lena’s sleek figure leaning over the woman’s desk, her back facing Tess.  
“Tess you’re extremely lucky I’m still in at work, but you better have a damn good reason for making a visit this late or so help me-“ Lena cut herself off as she turned around to face Tess and took in the state of the girl. “What the hell happened to you, Tess?!”  
Tess just stood there, half-smiling due to the joy of seeing someone familiar, but quickly grimacing again as her bruised face ached in pain, “I don’t remember…I just remember the name Luthor.”  
Lena ran over, gently placing her hands on Tess’ shoulders before carefully directing the girl to the couch, “You’re cold and wet and you’re bleeding! Why didn’t you go to hospital? What about Kara?”  
Tess paused for a minute, swallowing yet another wave of nausea, “No hospital please. My phone’s gone I couldn’t get Kara. Kara and Alex can help. Please don’t take me to the hospital.”  
Lena was already on the phone, after all, she had Kara on speed dial.

* * *

Kara jumped as her phone rang, Lena’s face popping up on the screen. She had just landed in the DEO with Alex. They were on the way to explain the situation with Tess to J’onn. Kara grabbed Alex’s forearm, preventing her from taking any more steps forward. “Lena? Are you okay?”  
“Kara! I’m fine, I’m with Tess.”  
“You’re with Tess?! Is she okay? Where are you? What happened?” Kara started at a million miles an hour.  
“We’re at L-Corp. She’s hurt, she’s refusing the hospital. She said you and Alex could help?”  
“Lena I’m going to send Supergirl to collect you both. Just stay where you are.” Kara promptly hung up, “Did you catch that Alex?”  
Alex nodded, “I’ll quickly get some supplies from the med bay, you can drop me back at your apartment on your way to L-Corp. We’ll treat her there, I don’t want her staying at L-Corp.”  
“Sounds like a plan, I hope it’s not too serious.” Kara quickly followed Alex to the med bay, ignoring the odd looks from the night shift DEO agents.

* * *

“Supergirl!” Lena stood up quickly as Supergirl appeared on the balcony.  
Kara walked in, her eyes locking on Tess, “Kara told me to bring you both to her apartment.”  
Tess looked wearily up at Kara, “Good timing...I can’t stop myself passing out any longer…” Tess promptly slumped to one side, falling unconscious.  
“Tess!” Lena placed two fingers to Tess’ neck, checking for a pulse, “She’s just unconscious thankfully. She needs medical attention now.”  
Kara tried to keep her expression steeled, “We need to go Lena. I’ll take Tess and be back in a minute for you.”  
Lena nodded, “Alright, be careful, I think her ribs are broken too.”  
“I’ve got this.” Kara ever so gently picked up Tess, trying to avoid moving her much before walking to the balcony and taking off.

Lena waited patiently for a minute or so before Supergirl came back to collect her, she held on tightly before she was dropped in Kara’s apartment. Lena took in the space for a moment before spotting Alex attending to a still unconscious Tess on the couch. She moved towards the duo, looking up as Kara walked into the room.  
“Lena! Are you alright too?” Kara quickly came over, pulling Lena into a hug.  
“I’m fine, Tess just rocked up on L-Corp’s doorstep looking like that. I don’t know what happened she didn’t remember.” Lena tightly hugged Kara back before pulling away and looking over at Alex.  
Alex had just finished inserting an IV cannula into the back of Tess’ hand, connecting fluids for rehydration, “Kara can you hold this up and squeeze it, I want it in fast, her blood pressure is dangerously low.”  
Kara quickly obliged, being sure to use just enough strength so that she didn’t pop the bag in her hands.  
Lena came over and knelt down next to Alex, “What can I do to help?”  
Alex handed Lena a pair of scissors without looking, her hands already moving to draw up another medication with a syringe, “Cut her t-shirt off please.”  
Lena obliged, Tess’ t-shirt was basically destroyed already she probably didn’t even need the scissors. It was wet, dirty and covered in patches of blood.

“Surely she needs to go to the hospital. She’s unconscious can’t we just take her?” Lena looked between Kara and Alex, resting her eyes on Alex.  
“I’ve got this, we don’t know what happened but she’s safe here. A hospital might not be safe for her right now.” Alex took her stethoscope out, listening to Tess’ chest, “She’s probably got broken ribs but internally her lungs sound fine and her heart is going strong. I don’t think there’s any internal bleeding.”  
Alex moved to place leads on Tess’ chest, hooking her up to cardiac monitoring and then placing a probe on Tess’ finger to monitor her oxygen saturation levels.  
“How can you be sure without scans though? I thought you were a special agent not a doctor?” Lena moved to hold Tess’ free hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.  
“We can’t. But if she improves in the next few hours then we’re out of the woods. If she deteriorates…then we’ll have to think about hospital. I basically got my medical degree I’ve done this before.” Alex pulled up the blanket to cover Tess, her attention moving to the injuries on the girls face instead.

“Why did she go to L-Corp Lena?” Kara was still standing, squeezing the last of the current bag of fluids.  
“I don’t know, she said something about just remembering the word ‘Luthor’. She didn’t say much before I called you.” Lena looked tiredly up at Kara before slowly dragging her eyes back to Tess.  
“At least you were still there. What were you doing at work so late?” Alex glanced up at Lena as she cleaned off the blood on Tess’ face.  
“Working, very late…I was five minutes away from calling it a night. Lucky I was still there really.”  
“Very lucky.” Kara stifled a yawn, “This bag is practically empty Alex.”  
“I know, I’ll replace it in a minute; you two should get some rest. I can handle this.” Alex was finishing placing a few small stitches along Tess’ eyebrow.  
“I’d rather wait until she wakes up.” Lena watched Alex’s hands carefully manipulating the stitches.  
Alex shook her head, “That could be a while, I gave her pain meds that are only going to add to her drowsiness anyway. Kara has some spare clothes for you I’m sure.”  
Kara handed Alex the empty bag of fluids as she finished stitching before holding a hand out to Lena to help her up, “Alex is right…we should rest.”  
Lena looked between the group, pausing on Tess for a moment before accepting Kara’s hand. “I will admit I am exhausted.”  
Kara chuckled slightly, “Who would have thought, Lena Luthor admitting she’s tired.”  
Lena gave Kara a lethargic eye roll but couldn’t help but smile a little as she followed Kara to her room.

Kara and Lena had come back into the living room dressed in some of Kara’s oversized t-shirts and sweatpants. Both had tried to stay up for a while longer but at present they were both fast asleep on the other couch, Lena’s head was resting on Kara’s shoulder as Kara’s head slumped back against the couch. Alex tiptoed over, taking off Kara’s glasses for her, she’d left them on so Lena wouldn’t see her without her glasses on. Alex was still monitoring Tess, whose vitals were slightly improving as time went by. Eventually Alex couldn’t help herself anymore, her back was leaning against the couch, her head resting close to Tess’ whose eyes were still closed in a somewhat peaceful sleep. The portable monitor tracing Tess’ heart beat and blood pressure would alarm if anything deteriorated. Alex glanced over one more time, checking everything was all right before she closed her eyes, quickly drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Tess woke up to light streaming onto her face, she rolled slightly groaning before coming face to face with Alex’s head. Alex was asleep and with a quick glance Tess noticed Kara and Lena on the other couch. Now Kara was still asleep in an upright position with her head resting against the back of the chair, but Lena’s head now was resting in Kara’s lap. The two of them looked so peaceful together. Tess’ peace was shattered when she felt a dull ache settle over her body, and soon after a wave of nausea started. She shifted painfully, pulling off the blanket and shivering as she was met with cold air. Another wave of nausea hit harder and she quickly swung her legs off the bed. Something snagged and she felt a sharp pain in her hand but she was too preoccupied trying to not vomit all over the floor. Something else tugged at her chest and started some high-pitched whine. She just had to ignore it as she started to run to Kara’s bathroom.

The high-pitched whine was the alarm on the monitor Alex had brought. Tess had torn off the leads in her haste to get to the bathroom. Alex, Kara and Lena all woke up with a start. Alex swiftly sprinted to the bathroom after Tess, followed quickly by Kara, who quickly placed her glasses back on, and Lena.  
Tess was already leaning back against the wall on the ground, trying to take deep breaths with her eyes closed to concentrate.  
Alex reached her first, kneeling down to her level, grabbing a towel to hold Tess’ hand where she’d ripped out her IV cannula, “Hey we’ve got you, it’s okay.”  
Tess opened her eyes and looked at Alex, noticing Kara and Lena standing in the doorway, all of them had concerned looks on their faces. Tess could only imagine what she looked like right now, the tiled floor was freezing though and she was starting to shiver. She scrunched her eyes closed again and leant forward, leaning her head on Alex’s chest.  
Kara quickly disappeared from the doorway, reappearing with a blanket and handing it to Alex.  
Alex took it, gently wrapping the blanket around Tess and placing her arm around the girl, holding her firmly but being sure to not cause any pain, “There you go…Kara and Lena can you start getting some food ready for Tess please, and get some juice, she needs the energy. I’ll help her get cleaned up.”  
Kara and Lena followed Alex’s instructions, moving out to the kitchen leaving Alex and Tess behind.

“I know you feel horrific right now but how about we try and sort out this vomiting okay, there’s a power point behind you, can you charge up some energy from there?” Alex spoke softly, keeping her voice low.  
Tess shook her head, “I couldn’t do it…I need small…”  
Alex looked around the bathroom, her eyes resting on Kara’s electric toothbrush as she reached up to grab it, “How about this?”  
Tess opened her eyes a crack, “Worth a shot.” Tess reached up with her hand that wasn’t bleeding and took the toothbrush from Alex, relieved when she felt a small surge of energy ebb through her hand.  
“Has that helped?” Alex rubbed small circles on Tess’ back as she continued to help hold her up.  
Tess nodded; her nausea was fading, as was some of her pain. “My powers are working again.”  
“Excellent,” Alex removed the towel from Tess’ hand, noticing that the bleeding had now stopped too, “Lena’s here you can’t charge up anymore or your injuries will disappear and that is not something we want to explain. I’m sorry Tess.”  
Tess gave Alex a small smile, at least she felt a bit better, “I get it, I didn’t know where else to go.”  
Alex took a deep inhale, pressing her head against Tess’, “I’m so sorry for sending you there alone. This is my fault.”  
“You didn’t know. You’re here now. I’m safe.”  
Alex paused before placing a small kiss on Tess’ forehead, one of the only spots that wasn’t currently bruised, “Let’s get you cleaned up and properly dressed.”  
Tess chuckled slightly, wincing as her ribs ached, “A shower would be great.”

* * *

Kara yawned as she got orange juice out of the fridge, pouring a glass for Tess. “Do you want any?” Kara held it up for Lena, who looked exhausted.  
Lena shook her head, sitting at the dining room table, “I need coffee.”  
Kara laughed, “I’m definitely making coffee, you look exhausted.”  
Lena smiled, “Thank you for letting me stay. I hope I’m not intruding on this all.”  
Kara paused as she got mugs ready, “Lena, without you Tess wouldn’t be here. Tess trusted you enough to go to you and I’m glad she did because I don’t know what would have happened if she hadn’t. Plus, you’re my best friend. It was just like a sleepover! Just a bit more stressful.”  
Lena chuckled at Kara’s sleepover comment, she had felt remarkably relaxed, she couldn’t believe she’d slept with her head on Kara’s lap, but it gave her a warm, fuzzy feeling. “Thank you Kara. That means a lot.”  
Kara gave one of her trademark dazzling smiles, “You’re welcome.”

Lena was about to ask Kara a question when she cut herself off as she saw Alex walk into the room with Tess, an arm around the girl’s waist.  
Tess gave a small smile, “Hey guys.” She looked fresher after a shower, her hair was still wet but she was dressed in a pair of pyjamas that Alex had bought for her.  
Lena breathed a sign of relief, looking over Tess, she was amazed at how well the girl was coping with the pain, “Tess, how are you feeling?”  
Tess was helped over to the table, sitting on the chair next to Lena, “I feel like someone decided to beat the crap out of me. But I’m here.”  
Alex grabbed some pain medication out of the supplies she’d brought home, placing two pills next to Tess on the table and grabbing the juice Kara had poured, “Take these, it’ll help.”  
Tess nodded, popping the pills in her mouth, “That would be appreciated.”  
Kara placed some pancakes on a plate in front of Tess, “Hopefully this helps too. I’ll get the syrup.”  
“Thank you Kara.” Tess was starving so the pancakes looked delicious.  
“Do you want pancakes too Lena? Or something else?” Kara queried.  
“Just a heads up she makes some mean pancakes, I wouldn’t turn her down.” Alex smirked at Lena, placing a coffee in front of both of them.  
Lena shrugged and gave a small laugh, “Well if you insist I guess I have to try the pancakes.”  
“Kara Danvers’ secret pancake recipe coming right up.” Kara winked at Lena before turning back to her frypan.

“Do you remember what happened at all?” Kara finished scoffing down her pancakes, adjusting her glasses as she finished.  
Tess shook her head; Alex had just given her another medical once over. “It’s just a blank space in my head. I don’t remember anything after I-“  
Alex cut Tess off, “After I sent you to pick up some milk on your way over?”  
Tess frowned at Alex before remembering Lena was sitting right next to her, “Yeah after that. I got there but apart from walking into the store it’s just gone.”  
“We need to get the police involved, I know you’re FBI Alex but surely this one’s a police matter?” Lena looked across at Alex, noting as Kara and Alex shared a quick glance at each other.  
“I have contacts in the NCPD, we’ll figure this out and whoever attacked Tess will get what they deserve, I swear.” Alex hoped her answer satisfied Lena, judging by the look she got back she wasn’t entirely sure it had.  
Tess looked up at the clock, noting the time, “You’re all going to be late for work. You guys should get going!”  
Lena just looked at Tess, a curious look in her eye as she gazed into Tess’ once again sparkling blue eyes, “I’m my own boss Tess. I can go in whenever I want.”  
Kara spoke up too, “Unless there’s an emergency I’m not going to work. And even then Alex is still staying all day.”  
Tess frowned, confused, “I’m not that important…”  
“Of course you are Tess.” Kara came over, adjusting a strand of Tess’ hair that had fallen into her eyes.

Tess felt a lump in her throat forming quickly as she quickly pushed her chair out of the table, wincing at the sudden movement causing her pain, “I need some fresh air.” Tess quickly disappeared round the corner into Kara’s bedroom, pulling open the window painfully before gasping for air. She was having a panic attack, her heart was racing, she felt dizzy and she couldn’t stop herself from shaking. She slid to the floor, grabbing one of Kara’s pillows and holding it to herself to try and splint her ribs as she tried to stop herself from hyperventilating. She knew she was being unrealistic but she was suddenly so worried about losing Kara, Alex and Lena. She’d never felt emotions so strong, everyone she’d ever loved, her family and friends were gone. How could these people already care so much about her, and how could she care so much about them too already. Her heart felt like it was literally beating out of her chest right now and she couldn’t stop her thoughts from racing. She closed her eyes just hoping she could sort her emotions out.

Kara was content to go with Alex and Lena’s decision to leave Tess alone for a little while until she returned. That was until she picked up Tess’ rapidly increasing heart rate and breathing. She knew she couldn’t explain to Lena that she could hear Tess was not okay so instead she made up an excuse to just do a very quick check on Tess and made her way into her bedroom, her eyes immediately settling on Tess’ quivering figure curled up against the wall. Kara dropped to her knees as she reached Tess, cupping the girl’s face in her hands, “Tess hey, hey I’m here.”  
Tess looked at Kara, a pained look on her face as she tried to control her breathing.  
Kara quickly moved, adjusting Tess so she was sitting behind her, bringing her head gently to her chest over her heart, “Listen to my heart and feel me breathing okay. Breathe when I breathe alright.”  
Tess took deep shuddering breaths; she could hear Kara’s strong and steady heart beat as she kept her tight grip on her pillow, holding it to her chest. She closed her eyes again and focussed on the slow, deep breaths that caused Kara’s chest to rise and fall.  
“That’s it, keep doing it with me.” Kara held Tess, one hand on the girl’s arm and the other gently holding Tess’ head. It was painful for her to see the girl in such a state, bruised both physically and mentally. At least she was managing to calm her down.

* * *

It was another 10 minutes or so before Kara noticed Alex, closely followed by Lena in the doorway.  
Lena took in the scene and her heart melted more than she realised it could, “Is she alright?”  
Kara gave a small nod, looking down at Tess who was now fast asleep in her arms. “She was having a panic attack. The poor thing’s exhausted.” Kara whispered.  
“I guess there’s no point in me staying any longer. I’m sure she’ll just be sleeping for the rest of the day. I trust you two to keep a good eye on her.” Lena needed to leave before her heart melted completely; Kara just looked so natural holding someone in her arms.  
Alex pulled back the bed sheets, creating a space for Tess, “I can promise you Lena we’ll look after her properly. Thank you for everything.”  
Kara adjusted her hold on Tess, gently picking the girl up and placing her on Alex’s bed, she tried to look like she was struggling but luckily it was a short distance to carry Tess.  
Lena watched Kara seemingly effortlessly transfer Tess from the floor to the bed and raised an eyebrow before returning to a neutral expression, “I guess that’s what family is for. If there’s anything I can do, just ask.”  
Kara nodded, “You might want to get changed first though.”  
Lena was confused momentarily before she realised she was still in Kara’s spare clothes. “Fair point. I don’t want that to be your next Catco article.”


	7. Chapter 7 - Thanksgiving

Alex swung open Kara’s apartment door, a smile gracing her face as she met Maggie’s eyes.  
“Hey there gorgeous.” Maggie’s signature smile meeting Alex’s before leaning in for a quick kiss.  
“Thanks for coming on such short notice.” Alex tried to contain her blushing and the flutters in her stomach from the kiss. This was supposed to be business after all.  
“Of course.” Maggie’s eyes flicked over to Kara who just walked out into the living space followed by Tess, “Hey you two.”  
Kara looked up and quickly ran over to give Maggie a hug, “Maggie!”  
Tess stood back, resting against the kitchen bench with her head hung low looking at the floor.  
Maggie pulled away from Kara’s hug and walked over to Tess, “How’s it going hun?”   
Tess lifted her gaze to meet Maggie’s eyes, giving a small smile, the bruises on her face had really start to set in and Alex’s stitches were still in, “I mean this is kind of embarrassing.”   
“Shit…who the hell did this?”, Maggie looked back at Alex and Kara, a frown set in her face, “When you said she got assaulted I didn’t think you meant this.”  
“That’s not even including the broken ribs and other bruises.” Alex came over, her arms folded across her chest.  
“Being a superhero in this town is a dangerous game.” Maggie tucked her hair behind her ears and brought out a notepad.

Alex, Kara and Tess all froze, a heavy silence settling in the air.  
Maggie paused waiting for a response before she turned to look at Alex and Kara, “I already know you’re Supergirl, do you really think that I’m not going to know Tess isn’t the new super-powered vigilante in town guys?”  
Alex was a little lost for words.  
“I’m a detective babe.” Maggie gave Alex a pointed look before looking back at Tess.  
“You’re really good at it…” Kara glanced at Alex before watching Maggie.  
“Can I just say I didn’t say a word and she figured it out.” Tess held her hands up in defeat before wincing, “I forgot my ribs are broken…can I heal them now she’s here?”  
“What about Lena? How do we explain the disappearing injuries to her?” Kara queried.  
“Wait Lena Luthor’s involved here?” Maggie gave Kara a disapproving look, “Why the hell is she involved.”  
“Because she helped me, I went to L-Corp for help. Is that a problem? Can’t we tell her the situation?” Tess signed.  
“No!” Blurted Alex, Kara and Maggie in unison.  
“Why not, it’s my secret? I get you don’t want her to know Kara but why can’t I tell her?” Tess frowned, not understanding the issue.  
“It’s a lot more complicated than that Tess. It’s not just your decision as to whether you tell Lena.” Alex tried to explain.  


“That doesn’t make any-“ Tess was cut off by Alex’s phone ringing.  
Alex held up a finger to shush Tess, answering her phone before hanging up after a few moments. “They need you at the DEO Kara.”   
Kara sighed, “I knew the day off wouldn’t last, I trust you two will take care of Tess.”  
Alex nodded, “Of course, we’ll keep in touch. Let me know what’s up at the DEO.”   
Kara used her super speed to change into her Supergirl suit before quickly giving Tess a kiss on the forehead, “I’ll be back soon.”  
Tess’ expression softened as she gave Kara a little smile, “Be careful Supergirl.”  
Kara nodded, saying goodbye to Maggie and Alex before she flew out her window.   
After watching Kara fly off, Maggie looked back at Tess. “Do you remember anything about what happened?”  
Tess shook her head, “I only remember from waking up in the alley. I don’t know what happened before that.”  
Maggie nodded, “Alright, we’ll go there then, surely we can find something there. You remember what alley right?”  
Tess paused, biting her lip, “I’ll have to retrace my steps a bit but I think so.”  
Maggie pulled out her keys, “I guess we’re going for a ride in the car.”

* * *

“This is it.” Tess looked down the alleyway, the events of the previous night flashing through her mind. She remembered exactly what she felt like. “I woke up there.” Tess pointed to the side of the alleyway.  
Maggie crouched down, thoroughly examining the area, “There’s no marks here or anything…” Maggie stood in the centre of the alleyway along with Alex, scanning the area, “There’s no cameras here anywhere. The bastards knew what they were doing.”  
“Surely there’s one somewhere, they had to come in and out of here.” Alex wandered to the corner of the alleyway, scanning all the way down the street.   
Maggie joined her, crossing her fingers for anything that could lead to a breakthrough.  
Tess strolled up to them, one hand in her pocket before she reached a hand out to the building, feeling for the energy connections running through the wall. It took a moment and a lot of focus, but she could kind of sense the directions of energy flow. “There should be a camera up there.”  
Alex looked at Tess, “How did you do that?”  
Tess gave a small smirk, “You didn’t think I’d shown you all my powers yet did you? My whole deal is energy and power so I kind of need to feel where I can get it from.”  
Alex just shrugged and looked up trying to spot the camera, “Fair point.”  


Without saying a word Tess placed her other hand on the wall, tapping into the energy from the building.  
Alex turned back around just to see Tess’ bruises dissolving into nothing, Tess’ face returning to its normal shade, “Wait Tess! What about Lena?!”  
“Well I think Lena would prefer I didn’t have broken ribs and bruises…” Tess took her hands away, pulling out her stitches and taking a deep breath, satisfied that her pain had gone.  
“Yeah but how do we explain this to her if she comes by for a visit? You’ve obviously made an impression on her. She cares about you a lot.” Alex gave Tess a disapproving look with her hands on her hips.   
“Apparently I’m good at first impressions, they really stick because you still think I need to be told what to do every five seconds.” Tess glared at Alex.  
Alex’s hands dropped from her hips as she covered the ground between herself and Tess, ready to give Tess a piece of her mind before she stopped, looking down at Tess. “I just want you to be safe Tess. That’s all. Whether that’s from Lena discovering your powers or anyone else. Someone has already found out and we don’t know what happened to you last night yet. I’m sorry if I come across like I’m barking orders at you all the time but I just want you to be safe.”   
Tess broke eye contact with Alex, looking back down the alley. A heavy silence hung between them before Tess finally spoke up again, “Why can’t Lena know?”  
Alex sighed, tentatively placing a hand on Tess’ shoulder, “It’s complicated, Kara trusts Lena but with her family’s history it’s just not safe.”  
Tess looked at Alex’s hand on her shoulder before looking back at Alex, “Do you trust her?”  
Alex opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by Maggie coming over, “I found the camera, cheeky little thing was hidden well. I’ll get us access to the feed from last night.”

The trio hopped back into Maggie’s police car, Maggie typing into her car’s computer. “Alright once this is processed I’ll have access. Shouldn’t take long.”  
Maggie had barely finished her sentence before the camera feed appeared on screen, the time stamp reading from the previous morning.  
Tess kept her eyes glued to the screen, hoping that this would help her remember even a slight bit more about the events that had happened.   
Maggie sped up the feed, bringing it forward to around midnight. “Come on…I hope there’s something here.”  
Alex was holding her breath, hoping that they’d figure out who was responsible for Tess’ injuries.   
A black SUV drove across the screen, the camera only catching the rear.   
Maggie cursed, “This has to be them. We don’t have another angle, lets hope the came out the same way.”  
They all waited patiently, not wanting to miss a thing if they sped up the feed.  
After an anxious wait the SUV appeared again, this time in the direction they could see.   
Alex inhaled sharply, “Crap. Lillian.” Alex looked back at Tess, worry all over her face, “What the hell did Cadmus do to you Tess.”  
Tess swallowed the lump forming in her throat, “I don’t remember…”  
Maggie reached a hand over to rest it on Alex’s thigh, “I’m sure it wasn’t anything good, you need to take this to the DEO Alex.”  
Alex nodded, “Yeah…this is officially a bigger issue now.”  
Maggie turned the computer screen off, starting the car, “I’ll drop you two there, call Kara and give her the heads up.”

* * *

Kara landed in the DEO, having finally finished cleaning up after a rogue alien hit downtown National City. She breathed a sigh of relief before passing through the DEO to the meeting room Alex had told her to come to. She walked in, seeing Alex, J’onn and Tess waiting. “What’s up?”  
J’onn had his arms folded across his chest, he didn’t look pleased. Alex was next to him pacing, and Tess was sitting at the table, watching Alex pace.  
J’onn saw Kara and adjusted his posture, “Alex…”  
Alex looked up nervously at Kara, stopping her pacing “We found out who kidnapped Tess last night...”  
“That’s great, now we can get the NCPD to make an arrest.” Kara’s forehead crinkled, unsure about the hesitation she was sensing from Alex.  
“Not exactly. It was Lillian. Cadmus.”   
Kara’s mouth dropped open, looking at Tess before swiftly stepping over, “Are you okay?” Kara couldn’t help but place a hand on Tess’ cheek, noticing the bruises no longer present.   
Tess shrugged, “I don’t remember anything, I don’t even know what they did…”  
J’onn uncrossed his arms, “I may be able to help with that. We really need to know what Cadmus wanted with you.”  
“You’re not an alien, I don’t understand what they would benefit from kidnapping you…” Kara placed a hand on Tess’ shoulder, hoping it was a little reassuring before moving out of J’onn’s way.  
“I guess we need to find out, whatever you can do J’onn do it.” Tess took a breath and tried to prepare herself for J’onn.  
J’onn came forward, carefully placing his hands over Tess’ temples, “This might be a little uncomfortable.”  
Tess closed her eyes, trying to prepare herself, “Let’s just do it.”

J’onn took a deep breath, clearing his mind before closing his eyes and reaching into Tess’ mind.   
Tess flinched at the invasion, it felt foreign and intrusive, but not threatening at the same time. She felt Kara take hold of her hands, keeping them from fidgeting, before all of a sudden she felt like her mind completely drifted off the edge of an abyss.  
J’onn felt the areas of Tess’ mind he wanted, trying to wade past the irrelevant memories and thoughts until he reached his goal. With some gentle prodding he cleared the fog before pushing forward, clearing a path in Tess’ mind.  
Tess jolted, pulling away from J’onn and Kara before lunging forward to the bin in the room, emptying her stomach into the bin and groaning.   
Kara quickly came over, pulling her hair out of the way and kneeling down next to her, “I’ve got you.”  
“I’m so over vomiting…” Tess groaned again, pushing the bin away and wiping her mouth.   
Alex came over with tissues and water, “Here, this might help.”  
Tess took it, giving a grateful smile, before looking back at J’onn.  
“Did it work?” J’onn looked hopeful and apologetic.  
Tess paused, searching her mind before it all came flashing back. The warehouse, Lillian, the drugs, and her blood all at once.   
Kara saw the recognition flash through Tess’ eyes, “Tess? Are you alright?”  
Tess looked slowly at Kara, “Lillian…she said they were going to use my genetics for something…they took blood, lots of it…”  
Alex cursed in her head, wishing that it had been a mistake of Cadmus to kidnap Tess.  
“They knew I wasn’t an alien. They knew everything already…how to beat me, about you Alex.”

“This isn’t good, after Cadmus capturing you and Mon-El, Kara, this is just the next step. We don’t know what they’re planning.” J’onn remained stoic, but Kara and Alex could see he was worried.  
“And now Cadmus has blood samples from both of you. Which is far from ideal.” Alex shook her head, trying to think what Cadmus could possibly want it for.  
“Maybe Lena will know something? She hasn’t mentioned her mother much but maybe she does know a little?” Kara questioned.  
“We can get Winn to hack Lena.” Alex looked over at Kara, trying to ignore the pit in her stomach knowing Cadmus had taken an interest in herself.   
Kara shook her head, “Now I can do it. I know her I can just talk to her.”  
Alex looked incredulously at Kara, “How do you plan on doing that?”  
“I’m a reporter. I can just tell her it’s for a story.” Kara didn’t understand Alex’s hesitation.  
“Sounds like a plan.” J’onn nodded in agreement.  
Alex looked at J’onn confused before just shrugging, “Alright go for it.”  
“But not today, it’s thanksgiving and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let Cadmus ruin thanksgiving.” Kara vowed.  
“Shit I forgot that was today! I’ve gotta go pick up mum.” Alex made a quick reminder on her phone, suddenly looking frazzled.  
“Wait what’s thanksgiving?” Tess looked puzzled.

Kara reached out a hand for Tess to take, “Come on, this is going to be great. You’ll finally get to meet your Aunt.”  
“Wait this is a family thing? Your mum is coming?” Tess hesitated, worried about what exactly taking Kara’s hand would entail.   
“Yep she is, you’ll love her I’m sure. I’ve gotta run.” Alex shot Tess a quick smile and gave her a pat on the arm as she brushed past and left.  
“But how will she feel about me…” Tess slowly took Kara’s hand.  
Kara just smiled, “She’ll love you too. You’re certainly not the first person to fall from the sky into her life.”

* * *

Tess was pacing in Kara’s apartment, Eliza was going to be there any second with Alex. Kara was busy getting things ready, she’d just told Tess to wear something nice, which meant pretty much nothing to her. She’d settled for a black pair of jeans, her black pair of converse Alex had bought her and a blue top that matched her eyes. She’d also pulled her hair up into a ponytail, hoping that made her fit Kara’s brief of ‘nice’. Kara appeared in a floral dress with her hair nicely styled, causing Tess to look down at herself and doubt.   
“Um…is this alright Kara?”  
Kara turned around from the kitchen to look at Tess, “Is what?”  
“Is this nice?” Tess gestured to her clothes, worry evident on her face.  
Kara gave a small chuckle, “It’s absolutely fine Tess. Don’t worry about it, I just like getting dressed up.”  
Tess breathed a sigh of relief before a knock at the door caused her to jump.  
Kara grinned, “They’re here!”   
Tess fiddled with the hem of her top, biting her lip as she waited for Kara to open the door.

Kara greeted Eliza and Alex, engulfing Eliza in a giant hug, “It’s so great to see you!”  
Eliza had a beaming smile on her face as she returned the hug, “I’ve missed you!”  
Alex walked in behind Eliza, noticing Tess holding back looking nervous. She walked over, placing an arm around Tess, “Come on. I think it’s time you meet your Aunt.”  
Tess nodded, grateful that Alex was holding onto her as they walked forward.   
Eliza let go of Kara, smiling as she met Tess’ eyes, “I’ve heard all about my new niece from Alex on the trip here. It’s wonderful to meet you Tess.”  
Tess couldn’t help but meet Eliza’s smile with one of her own, “I’ve heard a lot about you too, Eliza. Oh can I call you Eliza?”  
Eliza laughed, “Eliza is absolutely fine, is it alright if I give my niece a hug?”  
Tess nodded as Alex let go of her and Eliza wrapped her arms around her. Tess melted into the hug, it was a definitely a mother’s hug. It reminded her of her own mum, the brief opportunities they were given together and the way nothing else mattered when she was in her arms. Tess held onto Eliza a little bit tighter, closing her eyes as the memories bubbled up and tugged at her heart.   
Kara watched, feeling she knew exactly what Tess was experiencing. Eliza was an amazing hugger and whenever Kara was missing her parents too much a hug from Eliza had managed to make everything a little bit better. Tess was older than Kara had been when she’d first arrived here, but not by much. No matter how grown-up Tess wanted to be she still wasn’t an adult.   
Alex looked over at Kara, a knowing look on her face.  
Kara just nodded, giving Alex a look that said it all without saying a word.

Tess finally let go of Eliza when another knock at the door came.  
Kara snapped out of standing around and opened the door, swinging it open to James and Winn, “Hey! You guys made it!”  
“Of course! You can’t have a proper thanksgiving without yours truly.” Winn gave Kara a quick hug, “And I guess James is here too.”  
James scoffed at Winn, “Hey I brought the drinks.” James promptly passed over the alcohol to Alex before giving Kara a hug.  
Kara shook her head at both of them, “Guys guys. It’s not a competition. I’m glad that we’ve all made it and we can have the perfect thanksgiving together.”  
“I sure am excited for your cooking Dr. Danvers.” Winn came over and gave Eliza a hug also, “Best cranberry relish around.”  
Eliza just laughed, “I guess we should get onto that Kara.”   
Kara nodded, “You’ll have to excuse us ladies and gentlemen, Eliza and I have work to do.”

After Eliza and Kara retreated to the kitchen, Winn came over to Tess and gestured for James to follow, “I don’t believe you’ve had the pleasure of meeting this guy yet Tess?”  
Tess couldn’t help but smile at Winn, his energy was contagious, “I don’t believe I have yet.”  
James came up to Tess, offering his hand to shake, “James. Olsen.”  
Tess took his hand, giving it a firm shake, “Tess. Connors.”   
“Oh like in _Terminator_.” James gave Tess a big smile.  
“Sorry what?” Tess looked puzzled.  
Winn just laughed, pushing James over to the couches, “He’s kidding! Forget he said anything!”  
Alex just rolled her eyes, coming over to Tess with a beer in hand, “He’s an idiot. Ignore him.”   
“You’re drinking already, Alex?” Tess chuckled at Alex’s beer.  
“I need the liquid courage.” Alex took a swig of her beer.  
“Why?”   
Alex leaned forward to whisper in Tess’ ear, “I haven’t told mum about Maggie yet.”  
“Oh…is that going to be an issue?” Tess whispered back to Alex.  
“I’m just nervous, I’m sure it’ll be fine. But saying it’s the hardest part.” Alex took another anxious swig of her beer, frowning as she saw James and Winn speaking in hushed voices themselves. “Give me a sec…”  
Tess nodded, before Kara came and pulled her into the kitchen with Eliza.

Alex came over to James and Winn, sitting down next to Winn as the duo stopped their conversation, “What are you two up to?”  
James adjusted his posture and cleared his throat, “Well uh, we were just discussing how we’re going to tell Kara that I’m the guardian.”  
Alex nearly choked on her beer, “What! No you idiots this is not the day for that!”  
“I barely slept last night Alex! I need to get this off my chest!” Winn took Alex’s beer away, “I need this more than you right now!”  
Alex snatched her beer back from Winn after he took a drink, “You’re not bringing it up, end of story.”  
“Bringing what up?” Kara appeared, sitting on the armrest of James’ chair.  
“Uh, bringing up what we’re thankful for this thanksgiving.” James quickly tried to give a coherent and sensible answer.  
Kara just frowned, “Well duh, that’s kind of the point of thanksgiving.”   
“For instance I’m thankful for your mum’s cooking.” Winn let out a nervous laugh.   
Alex just nodded, “She is a great cook…”   
“I get it, you guys are just struggling to focus on anything because you can smell how amazing Eliza’s cooking is.” Kara took a deep breath, taking in the smells of Eliza’s thanksgiving cooking.  
“Exactly!” James gave Kara a big grin.  
“Speaking of which! It’s turkey time!” Kara got off James’ armrest running back to the kitchen.  
“Great…” Alex downed the last of her beer, handing her empty bottle to Winn as she got up off the couch.

Once the group was settled around the table, Kara spoke up, “Well as most of you know, it’s the Danvers family tradition for everyone to say what they’re thankful for before we eat.”   
Tess was sitting between Kara and Alex, watching silently to try and understand the whole thanksgiving business.  
James and Alex stood up at the same time, both of them starting to speak before Alex sat back down in defeat.  
“Well Kara, I’d just like to say that I’m thankful to have a friend who’s as understanding as you-“ James started before he was promptly cut off by Alex.  
“No. No she’s not.” Alex glared at James.  
Kara shot Alex a look, confused as to what the hell Alex was doing.  
James tried to start speaking again, except this time instead of being cut off by Alex he was cut off by a blue portal appearing above the table.  
The whole group jumped up from their chairs, all of them wondering what the hell just happened.   
Tess spoke up first, “I’m guessing that’s not a normal thanksgiving trick?”  
Kara shook her head, “No. No at all.”  
Winn waved his hand above the table where the portal had been, “Well…I think it’s gone. It’s safe.”  
Eliza sighed, “I don’t think I’ve had a normal thanksgiving for the past 10 years so I don’t know why I expected this one to be different.”  
Alex sat back down, “How about we skip the speeches and just eat so our meal doesn’t get destroyed before we get to eat it.”  
James sat back down too, nodding in agreement, “That sounds like a good idea to me.”

* * *

Much later in the night after Winn and James had left, Kara, Alex, Eliza and Tess were left in Kara’s apartment.   
Tess had laid down on the couch after helping clean up dinner, and was subsequently fast asleep.   
Kara, Alex and Eliza were sat at the kitchen table, having a proper catch up. Kara and Eliza were sipping cups of tea and Alex was finishing off a glass of wine.  
Eliza held her cup of tea up to take a sip, glancing over at Tess, “I don’t know why you said she was such a handful Alex.”  
Alex looked over at Tess before meeting Eliza’s gaze, “Well…teenagers. What else can I say.”  
Kara gave Alex a small slap on the wrist, “Tess is not a handful. What made you say that?”  
Alex scoffed, “I don’t know, maybe it was her trying to kill us when she arrived? Her sneaking around on my computer? Her refusal to do what she’s told half the time and then the fact that Cadmus already knows her identity?”   
“Wait Cadmus? You didn’t mention that earlier Alex?” Eliza frowned, putting down her cup of tea.  


“Cadmus managed to get blood samples from myself and Tess…” Kara stared into her cup of tea.  
“Why? What could they do with your blood Kara? What could they do with Tess’?”   
“We don’t know yet…” Kara bit her lip, remembering she had to go speak to Lena tomorrow.   
Alex shrugged, “It’s definitely not ideal. I don’t know how they’d do anything with Tess’ blood. Her powers are genetically coded into her chromosomes, plus her blood samples don’t last long unless they’re continuously energised.”  
“What about genetic grafting?” Eliza queried.  
“I don’t know anyone that’s successfully done that. Let alone on anything useful.” Alex drunk the last of her wine, her words just a little slurred.  
“What if Cadmus had the capability to genetically graft on live subjects?”  
“I don’t think Cadmus can do that.” Alex slurred.  
“Well if they can…that’s our job for tomorrow. It can wait for tonight.” Kara finished her cup of tea, frowning at Alex’s drunken state.  
Eliza finished her own cup of tea, “I think maybe I should drive us back to your apartment Alex.”   
Alex stood up, nearly falling over, “I’ll be fine driving…”  
Kara steadied Alex, “Nope, Eliza’s definitely driving.”  
Eliza came round to Kara, giving her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek, “Tell Tess it was lovely to meet her. Can we do coffee tomorrow.”  
Kara returned the hug, “That would be excellent.”   
Eliza took Alex’s keys and wrapped an arm around Alex, “Come on sweetie. Home time.”

Kara took over the last of the dishes into the kitchen; smiling as she finished washing them up and dried her hands. She turned off the kitchen lights, walking into the lounge, pulling out the air mattress they’d bought the other day for Tess. She unfolded it, taking a deep breath before using her super breath to inflate it in one blow. Placing it down, Kara put a sheet down, a pillow and readied a blanket. She went over to Tess, gently lifting up the teenager and then kneeling down and placing her on the mattress. She draped the blanket over Tess, pausing as Tess’ eyes opened to look at her.  
“Kara?...” Tess sleepily asked.  
Kara tucked the blanket around Tess’ shoulders, tucking Tess’ hair behind her ear and speaking softly, “Yep it’s just me. Go back to sleep.”   
Tess gave a small nod, closing her eyes again, “Love you Kara…”  
Kara smiled and whispered back, “Love you too Tess.” Kara gave Tess a small kiss on the cheek before calling it a night herself.

* * *

Kara walked into L-Corp, walking past security and going straight up to Lena’s office. Lena’s secretary Jess nodded at Kara as she walked past, she didn’t even try to stop Kara now. Kara was usually only ever in four places, her apartment, the DEO, Catco, or L-Corp. She walked into Lena’s office, her heart skipping a beat as Lena’s beaming smile greeted her.  
Lena had her hair down for once and was wearing a designer black long-sleeved top with a black and white pencil skirt and black heels. “Kara! How is everything? How’s Tess?” Lena stood up, coming over to give Kara a hug.  
Kara returned the hug, the two of them lingering for a little bit longer than necessary, “Tess is doing great. She’s practically back to her usual.”  
“Wow already? The monsters that did that to her really didn’t hold back…” Lena hummed as she thought about Tess, her memory flashing back to the day a crater was left on her roof by a similar blue-eyed girl.  
Kara adjusted her glasses, “She’s got a good immune system that’s for sure.”   
Lena continued to smile at Kara even though her comment made no sense, “I’ll bet. Being young helps.”  
Kara internally cringed at the words that had just spilled out of her mouth, luckily Lena was nice enough to just go with it.   
“Please, sit.” Lena gestured to the chair opposite her desk as she walked over to the side of the room to pour them both a glass of water.  
Kara sat gladly, puling out her notebook.

“So what exactly is this interview for again?” Lena turned back, handing Kara a glass before sitting back down on the other side of her desk.  
“Oh it’s just kind of a…puff piece, women of power and the mother’s who molded them.” Kara watched to see if Lena showed any reaction.  
Lena kept her expression steady, “Oh, I mean of course. I’m happy to help, Kara. I’m just not sure how interesting my mother and I really are.”  
Kara all too quickly spoke up, “Oh I’m sure your mother is fascinating.”  
Lena continued to smile but it slowly disappeared, realising exactly where Kara was going with this, “Listen, Kara, you can write whatever sounds good, but the truth is…as a daughter I always seemed to fall short. We could never agree on anything.”  
Kara didn’t want to hurt Lena but she needed answers so she kept pushing, “What sort of things didn’t you agree on?” Kara watched Lena look up at her, her stomach sinking a little as she noticed a little bit of hurt slip out of Lena’s eyes. She prodded a bit more gently, “Was it the business or?..”  
“My mother couldn’t care less about L-Corp.” Lena scoffed.  
“What about back when it was Luthor Corp?” Kara continued to push. “How did she feel when you changed the company’s direction?”

“You mean when I changed it from it’s ‘murdering, world domination’ direction?” Lena was starting to feel angry at Kara but she tried to keep her feelings at bay.  
Kara nervously laughed, “Sure, yes.” Kara was trying to recover any thread of hope to keep the interview alive, “It’s just you said to me once you wanted L-Corp to be a ‘force for good’. She has to be proud of that?” Kara gave Lena a smile, hoping it would lighten the mood.  
“Yeah I would hope so.” Lena needed to end this interview before Kara’s questions started to hurt anymore, “Look, Kara you know I’m a complete idiot. I forgot I had a meeting. I trust you will do us justice.”  
Kara nodded, picking up her bag, “Yes. It’s good to see you.”  
“You too, give my best to Tess. If there’s anything I can do to help just text me.” Lena gave Kara one last smile before it quickly faded.  
Lena watched Kara leave before reaching for her phone, calling her mother, “Mum. We need to talk.” Lena hung up almost as quickly as she called.

Lena was running through her research reports, a glass of red wine close by, when her door opened, causing her to snap her head up to look and close her laptop. Her eyes landed on Lillian who gave her a curt nod.   
“You wanted to see me?” Lillian walked into the centre of the room, briefly glancing around Lena’s office. “Spending the holidays alone again?”  
“I don’t know why you’re surprised, I’m used to it.” Lena sat back in her chair, watching as Lillian walked over to pour herself a glass of wine also.  
“I guess it runs in the family. All work no play.” Lillian tasted the wine before placing it back down and walking back over to Lena.  
“Oh I’m part of the family now? I thought I was adopted, you’ve never let me forget it.” Lena held back, keeping her tone neutral as she watched Lillian.  
“You know I love you Lena. Of course I love Lex more but that can’t be helped. It’s only natural.” Lillian smirked as she looked down at Lena.  
Lena gritted her teeth, standing up to come round to face her mother, “Enough with the pleasantries. What the hell are you doing?”  
“Oh I see this had nothing to do with you apologising for what you’ve done to our name. I thought with thanksgiving you’d realise how much you have to thank me for.” Lillian glared at Lena, barely holding back the venom in her tone.   
Lena crossed her arms, “Not a chance.”  
Lillian collected herself, “Well then there’s no point in me staying."

Lena watched as Lillian turned to leave, “There’s a reporter sniffing about. She’s smart, she knows something about you.”  
Lillian paused, turning back around, “I can’t imagine there’s anything to find.”  
Lena smirked, relishing in having the upper hand on Lillian for once, “I think you chose the wrong teenager to kidnap.”  
Lillian examined Lena’s face, looking for any sign of a bluff, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  
Lena bit her lip, “Dark brown hair, blue eyes you can spot a mile away? Almost certainly the new vigilante on the streets backing up Supergirl that whispers have appeared of, with powers of some description, someone that certain individuals would have a vested interest in. I didn’t think you’d stoop so low as to kidnap children and then leave them for dead on the streets.”  
Lillian’s stare turned ice-cold, “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”  
Lena clicked her tongue in disapproval, “I think I do mum. I think your research has gone a little off the rails, if that reporter doesn’t know what you’re up to. I’ll find out myself.”  
Lillian shook her head, “There’s nothing to find.”   
Lena walked back to her desk, facing out her windows as she heard her mother exit, today was not the day to mess with Lena Luthor.

* * *

After Lillian left L-Corp she pulled out her phone, calling the first contact in her phone.  
“Ms. Luthor?”   
“Ready the first Medusa device.” Lillian walked down the steps of the L-Corp plaza, getting into the her car that pulled up to collect her.  
“Now Ms. Luthor?”  
“Now. We’re officially starting the first phase.” Lillian hung up, smiling at the man sitting next to her in the car, “It’s finally time.”  
Hank Henshaw, or as he now referred to himself, Cyborg Superman, smirked back at Lillian, “Excellent. When are we preparing for the second phase?”   
Lillian looked back at L-Corp slowly fading into the distance, “Tonight. L-Corp has isotope 454. I trust you’ll be able to retrieve it. But for now, you know the first phase. Our scientist will meet you in the alley near the alien bar. The rest I’m sure you remember.”  
Hank nodded, “Leave it to me.”  



	8. Chapter 8 - Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter! Hope you guys enjoy this one, thank you all for the interest in the story so far. Some big things happening in this chapter, hope it makes you all excited for the next!

Alex, Kara, Eliza and Tess were out getting coffee when Alex and Kara’s phones started to ring together. They both excused themselves and picked up their phones. Eliza frowned, concern on her face as both Alex and Kara’s expressions changed to horror.  
Alex hung up as did Kara, “We need to get to the DEO. Now.”  
Kara slapped a tip on the table, “It’s quicker if we fly. Tess and I can take you both.”  
Tess stuttered, “Um, sorry I don’t normally fly with someone.”  
Alex shot Tess a look, “You can lift almost a 1000 pounds, more with your suit! I think you can carry me.”  
Eliza spoke up, “Wait, Alex, Kara. What’s going on?”  
“We have to go. There’s been an attack.” Kara lead them all down an empty alley, changing into her super suit in an instant.  
Tess put her phone away, reaching out to the wall next to them and draining power from the power network, her suit materialising in the same moment, “Well Alex I hope you trust me.”  
Kara took off with Eliza, leaving Tess and Alex to follow.  
Alex came over, shaking her head at the thought, “You better not drop me.”  
“Just hold on.” Tess looked back down to the entrance of the alleyway, frowning as what looked like a familiar face appeared.  
“Tess, we need to go.” Alex was already holding on to Tess tightly.  
Tess looked at Alex before quickly checking the entrance again, frowning as she saw nothing and trying to purge the thought from her mind, “Sorry. Like I said, hold on.”

J’onn had started his brief when Tess and Alex ran into the meeting room, Tess looking a little puffed out from trying to keep up with Kara. “We’re here!” Tess gasped out, trying to catch her breath.  
Everyone in the room shot Tess a look, causing her to promptly shut her mouth and stop breathing so heavily.  
“As I was saying. There was an attack at the alien bar. Mon-El alerted us to the incident. He’s been quarantined as we think it’s a biological weapon attack. A weapon that seems to kill all aliens and leave humans untouched.”  
“It has to be Cadmus.” Kara spoke up, shaking her head.  
J’onn nodded, “Mon-El said he fought with me, the real Hank Henshaw at the bar. We know he’s working with Cadmus so that gives us a definite link.”  
“We need to go after them. I didn’t get through to Lena as Kara but maybe Supergirl will get something from her. Anything she knows about Lillian would help.” Kara turned on her heels, ready to leave.  
Eliza shot out a hand, “Kara! Don’t you understand? If Cadmus has a weapon they can use to kill aliens what do you think it will do to you?”  
Kara stopped, the reality of the situation sinking in, “I can’t just sit here and do nothing.”  
Tess straightened up, “I’m not an alien. I can still go out there.”  
J’onn stood up straighter, “We can’t leave the DEO from now on until the all clear is given. Right now Eliza and Alex if you would be able to examine Mon-El to see if you can identify the weapon used. Tess, you’re on standby, charge up, but stay put until I give the word.”  
Tess nodded, the reality of the responsibility just placed on her suddenly sinking in. Her stomach dropped like a log, she was used to playing sidekick to Kara, now she had to step up. She hoped that National City would be good for just a day.

Winn came in, tablet in hand, “We just got a call from NCPD, they could use backup.”  
J’onn and Kara looked over at Tess expectantly.  
Tess tried to keep her mouth closed as she gaped at Winn, “Are you serious?”  
Kara gave Tess a pat on the shoulder, “You can do this Tess. You’re a pro. Now you can get properly back into it.”  
Tess tried to pump herself up, remembering her days of being a police enforcer back on her own earth, “Good point. I’ve got this. No problems.”  
“You need to get going Surge.” J’onn turned on his heels, heading back to the control room.  
“Oh wait, before you go, I see I neglected to tell Kara to tell you about your mask.” Winn set his tablet down, “Tap here and you can switch your mask on and off.” Winn placed two fingers on the top of his sternum, right between his collarbones. “Only you can switch it on and off, you don’t need to worry about something tapping it off in a fight.”  
Tess looked down, tapping the area, “I don’t feel anything.”  
Winn held up his blank tablet screen, the mirrored surface showed Tess’ face completely covered from just under eyes in the white colour that highlighted her suit. “I mean you can change the design if you want, but I thought it looked pretty badass. It will overlay a heads-up display even though it doesn’t conceal your eyes. ”  
Tess smiled, not that you could tell, “Definitely badass.”  
“You need to get going now Tess.” Kara motioned towards the exit.  
“Right, I got this. I guess send the location to my HUD Winn.” Tess ran towards the exit, a trail of lights flickering behind her before she launched herself out of the building.  
Kara sighed, watching Tess go, “Be safe…”

* * *

Tess landed at the crime in progress, settling down and being greeted with a hail of gunfire from a group of six gunmen. “I see now why they wanted backup.” Tess turned on her heels, launching herself towards the gunmen who had redirected their gunfire from the NCPD to herself. She landed a swift kick to the side of the first gunman’s head, firing an energy blast at the second and third on either side. She ducked into a somersault, kicking herself up off the ground into the stomach of the fourth gunman and quickly front-flipping over his head as he fell. As soon as she touched the ground another burst of energy shot out from her, directing itself at the final two gunmen and dropping them to the ground. Tess stood up straight from her flip, surveying the scene, “I guess that’s that.”  
“Holy crap that was amazing!” Winn’s voice buzzed in her ear.  
Tess smiled to herself, feeling invigorated, “Not too bad if I do say so myself.”  
The police crew came forward, one of them stopping in front of her, “I thought we called for Supergirl. Who are you supposed to be.”  
Tess raised an eyebrow at the police officer, “Haven’t you heard? I’m Surge. You’re welcome.”  
The police officer nodded, “Fair enough. Thanks for the help.”  
Tess gave him a nod, “I’ll leave the real police to do the rest of the job.” Tess walked away, noticing a news crew already filming herself and the scene. Tess gave them a small salute before creating a display as she launched herself back into sky on her way back to the DEO.

* * *

Tess skipped back into the DEO, switching her mask off as she walked in. She’d had to stop at a few more crimes in progress on her way, to the point it was actually almost dark out, but finally she was back. “So any progress with everything so far, Winn?”  
Winn spun around in his chair, “Well, Mon-El is dying, the virus is the Medusa virus that Kara’s dad made to target anyone that isn’t a kryptonian, Cadmus is planning to disperse the virus across the whole city and L-Corp has the isotope they need to make it happen.” Winn paused, tilting his head as he ticked off everything in his head to make sure he hadn’t missed anything, “Yep that’s pretty much it.”  
“Well. I don’t know what I was expecting…” Tess looked surprised.  
Winn looked back at his computer, “Crap, L-Corp’s silent alarm just got tripped. They’re trying to steal the isotope.”  
Kara looked flustered as she appeared as Winn finished, “Tess let’s go. We have to stop them!” Kara sped off, not waiting for Tess to follow.  
Tess switched her mask back on before following Kara out, not wasting a second.

Tess and Kara landed in L-Corp, their eyes instantly falling on Hank Henshaw.  
“Hey! It’s time to leave buddy.” Kara greeted Hank with a right hook.  
Hank barely flinched, standing up straight before retaliating, “You can’t stop us Supergirl.”  
Tess flanked Hank, firing blasts at him from behind as Kara fought him up close.  
Hank grabbed Kara by the throat, turning them on the spot before he threw Kara at Tess.  
Tess’ eyes widened as she saw Kara hurtling towards herself, unable to do anything before she was thrown into the wall by Kara hitting her. Tess shook her head, trying to clear her head from the hit.  
“Are you okay?” Kara got back to her feet.  
“Don’t worry about me! Watch out!” Tess rolled out of the way as Kara super sped herself out of the way of the rubble Hank threw their way.  
Tess threw another blast at Hank, watching as he picked up L-Corp’s logo statue and looked up where he was aiming it, seeing Lena standing right in it’s path, “Supergirl!” Tess hoped Kara would understand what her yelling meant.  
Kara noticed just as Tess yelled, speeding in front of Lena just in time to avoid the unthinkable.  
The NCPD arrived at that moment, Maggie leading the charge. Except their bullets were only ricocheting off Hank. Just for a moment Hank’s attention was stolen as was the NCPD’s, Kara looking up to see another blue portal like the one at thanksgiving appearing. Kara swept out Hank’s feet, pinning him to the ground before she watched hopelessly as Maggie was struck by Hank’s laser eye. She rushed into action as the woman fell to the ground.  
Tess had run over to Lena, placing herself in between Lena and Hank.  
Hank shook his head at the disaster before blowing past the NCPD, escaping into the night.

Tess turned around to face Lena, “Are you alright Miss Luthor?”  
Lena was stunned by the girl in front of her, the same blue eyes and dark brown hair she’d seen in so many scenarios meeting hers again, if Lena wasn’t already convinced she was now. She knew Tess was the one standing in front of her. Lena was a little lost for words before she finally was able to speak up, “You and Supergirl saved me. Thank you.”  
Tess nodded, concerned by the expression on Lena’s face, she could have sworn she saw a flash of recognition on Lena’s face, “You’re safe now. You can go back to your office.” Tess pushed the elevator button for Lena before quickly jogging over to Kara and Maggie.  
Maggie was on the ground, blood seeping from her arm, “You two are a sight for sore eyes.”  
Kara got down on her knees, “We’ve got you. Don’t worry Maggie.”  
Tess reached them both, “Maggie!”  
Kara looked up at Tess, “Are you alright?”  
Tess nodded, “Ignore me, Maggie’s hurt.”  
Kara put her arms around Maggie, gently picking her up. “I’ve got this.”  
Tess followed Kara out the doors of L-Corp before gently lifting off, leaving the police behind to clean up.

Alex instantly rushed off with Maggie into the DEO’s infirmary as soon as they arrived, leaving Kara and Tess in the centre of the DEO. Tess switched off her mask, wincing as she realised Kara’s elbow had hit right where the sensor was when she’d been thrown into her.  
Eliza, J’onn and Winn walked up to the duo, J’onn speaking first, “What happened?”  
“Hank Henshaw was trying to steal the isotope.” Kara spoke up.  
“Did you secure it first?” Eliza asked.  
“No. He didn’t get it but neither did we. Have you found out anything else about how to stop Medusa?” Kara looked at Winn, hoping for some good news.  
Winn shook his head, “There’s nothing about a cure, just how to spread the virus.”  
“Would Lena Luthor know?” Eliza looked between Kara and Tess. “Her mother has already made a lot of progress with Medusa. What if they’re working together?”  
“Hank nearly killed Lena why would she be working with her mother?” Tess was taken aback by Eliza’s suggestion.  
“Exactly, Lena was shocked to see Hank, she can’t be.” Kara added.  
“They’re pretty good actors.” Winn shrugged.  
“Lena’s not acting.” Tess glared at Winn.  
Kara nodded, “I looked into Lena’s eyes she doesn’t know about her mother and Cadmus. I swear.”  
“Do you believe that enough to risk every alien life in National City?” J’onn asked.  
“This is ridiculous, Kara is right, Lena is not-“ Tess started before J’onn cut her off.  
“Do you trust her enough, Kara?” J’onn pressed.  
Kara looked at J’onn, doubting herself as she saw Tess storm off out of the corner of her eye. “I’ll go speak to her…”

Kara flew out of the DEO, shooting up to Lena’s balcony, gracefully landing before walking into Lena’s office, “Miss Luthor.”  
Lena turned, a giant smile on her face, “You saved me. Thank you Supergirl.”  
Kara rested her hands on her hips, walking further into Lena’s office, trying to figure out what to say, “I’m glad your safe, Lena.”  
“I wouldn’t be without you.” Lena’s smile dimmed a little, curious as to the reason behind Supergirl’s visit.  
“Lena, did you know your mother is behind Cadmus?” Kara attempted to just get the hard part out of the way, choosing to go straight to the point.  
By this stage Lena’s smile was gone, a long silence occurring as Lena processed just how exactly to respond. “I thought you were different. You can’t just accuse my mother just because she’s a Luthor.”  
“Cadmus was trying to steal from you tonight, your mother kidnapped me and stole my blood and now she has a weapon that can only be activated by an isotope produced by L-Corp. I’m not accusing you of anything Lena, but your mother is dangerous.” Kara looked at Lena, her heart breaking on the inside at the look of betrayal in Lena’s eyes.  
“My mother isn’t the greatest humanitarian alive. But she is not evil. Get out.” Lena picked up her tablet, refusing to look at Kara anymore.  
“Lena…” Kara didn’t want to leave, she just wanted to hug Lena, to reassure her that Kara wasn’t defining her as a Luthor like everyone else.  
“Just get out.” Lena’s harsh tone shocked even herself.  
Kara walked to the door, pausing before she stepped out, “You’re not your mother Lena. You are smart and kind and you are so much more. You can be a force for good.”

Lena refused to acknowledge Kara, waiting for the familiar sound of Supergirl flying off before letting her guard down. She couldn’t believe that Supergirl had the audacity to come in and accuse her mother of being head of Cadmus. But the more she thought about it the more it made sense. Of course her mother would be part of Cadmus, she hated aliens, Supergirl most of all. Lena turned to look at the glass separating her from her balcony. She almost jumped at her reflection, pausing as she stared back at the woman in front of her. The person in front of her was angry, full of rage, but behind that fury there was hurt. She was hurt that Supergirl was accusing her mother of being evil incarnate, hurt that she was once again being tarred with the same Luthor brush. But most of all, she was hurt because she knew it was true. Lena looked down at the floor, unable to meet her reflection anymore. Suddenly, her mind raced back over the past few days, those words. Those words Supergirl had left with, ‘force for good’, Lena’s own words. She’d only had them spoken to her just the day before by Kara. Lena looked back up at her reflection, confirming in her eyes that she really was an idiot. The constant visits, knowing about her mother. That same crinkle.

“Kara is…Supergirl.” Lena whispered to herself. “Kara is Supergirl.” Lena reiterated, with more conviction this time. “Kara is Supergirl!” Lena shouted at her reflection. Lena ran her hands through her hair, her heat beating out of her chest. It made so much sense, nothing had made more sense in her life. Lena felt ecstatic for a moment before it dawned on her and a weight sunk in her stomach. Kara didn’t trust her enough to tell her. It had to be because of her mother, but Kara knew she didn’t see eye to eye with her mother, she would never betray Kara like that. But still, it wasn’t enough. Not enough for Kara. Lena turned, sliding down the glass until she was sitting on the floor, clutching her hands to her chest. The thought of not being enough for Kara was like a hot knife tearing through her heart. Lena tried to claw herself back from the pit of despair she was making for herself, Supergirl, no Kara, wanted her help. Even if Kara didn’t trust her, Lena refused to let her mother hurt Kara. After a few moments she finally gained the strength to get back on her feet, scooping up her phone off her desk. She knew what she had to do.  


* * *

Tess reached the infirmary, ducking her head in and feeling relieved when she saw Alex and Maggie.  
Alex looked up, noticing Tess’ head appear around the doorway, “Tess?”  
Tess stepped in, “Alex. I thought I’d just, come check on Maggie?”  
Alex nodded, looking down at Maggie who she’d just finished stitching up, “She’s all good.”  
Maggie turned her head around, watching Tess come around to the front of them both, “What about you Tess? I saw you getting slammed in there?”  
Tess dematerialised her suit, “Yeah I didn’t think I was going to have Kara thrown into me, but I guess I should expect the unexpected. Nothing my powers won’t fix though.” Tess gave Maggie a smile, looking at the stitches on Maggie’s shoulder, “Wish you could say the same.”  
Maggie looked down at her injury, shrugging, “I think Alex has patched me up pretty good.”  
Alex put a hand on Maggie’s arm, “I know you’re on drugs but I don’t think you should move your shoulder otherwise it’s going to hurt more.”  
Maggie pouted, “Sorry Dr. Danvers.”  
Alex rolled her eyes, “It’s a good thing I love you.”  
Maggie grinned, “Love you too babe.”  
Tess chuckled, “You two are idiots.”  
  
“What are they doing now about Medusa?” Alex turned her attention back to Tess.  
Tess bit the inside of her cheek, “J’onn, Winn and Eliza thought Kara should go talk to Lena to see if she’s working with her mother.”  
“Wouldn’t surprise me.” Maggie muttered.  
Alex’s eyes shot to Tess, quickly stepping forward and putting her hands on Tess’ shoulders, “Tess don’t take it personally.”  
“Why do you keep accusing Lena of everything? Seriously I don’t get it, all she’s done is be helpful!” Tess yelled.  
“Whoa Tess I wasn’t meaning to offend you or something.” Maggie painfully straightened up.  
Alex whipped a hand around to silence Maggie, holding the other across Tess’ collar to stop her from getting closer to Maggie, “Maggie please don’t. Look I get this is a touchy subject Tess but calm down. We don’t have time to argue about this. Kara will just ask her a few questions and if she gets nowhere then that’s it.”  
Tess searched Alex’s expression for any weakness, taking a deep breath before pulling away from Alex, “Sorry I’m just…”  
“Exhausted.” Alex filled in, lowering her arm blocking Tess.  
Tess nodded, “I think that covers it.”  
“And you have anger issues.” Alex added.  
Tess started to speak up in defence but Alex cut her off with a finger.  
“Go heal, then go rest. There’s no point in staying up unless we need you, I promise we’ll get you if something changes.” Alex reached out, brushing a small smudge of dirt off Tess’ cheek.  
“I’m practically an adult Alex.” Tess murmured as she moved out of the infirmary.  
“A couple of years left still hun!” Alex shouted after Tess, making sure she heard as she left.  
  
Maggie remained silent until she was sure Tess was out of earshot, “What the hell was that about?”  
Alex rolled her eyes, “She thinks Lena is amazing, she takes it very personally when someone disagrees.”  
“Why?” Maggie queried.  
Alex sighed, “I don’t know. I guess Lena was there when she needed her, even though Lena’s own mother kidnapped her. But Lena was also there when she first got here, she literally landed on L-Corp. I don’t know if she even remembers that but maybe she does, and that means Lena’s been there for her every time. I just, I don’t know I think she hates me sometimes.” Alex sat down next to Maggie, looking exhausted herself.  
Maggie reached out, holding Alex’s hand, “I don’t think she hates you. I think Kara is a bit soft and you provide the much needed authority figure in her life. I think she has issues with authority, but whether she’ll admit it or not she loves you for it. If she didn’t she would never listen to you. Plus, I’m pretty sure the problem is you’re just a bit too much like each other.”  
Alex paused for a while, looking at Maggie’s hand in her own before she met Maggie’s gaze, “I didn’t know a side effect of the drugs I gave you was a temporary increase in wisdom.”  
Maggie laughed, “I’m always this wise babe.”  
“Hmm, I don’t know about that.” Alex cut off any protest from Maggie with a kiss, “Lucky I love you no matter what.”

* * *

 Lena had figured out what Cadmus – her mother Lena corrected – wanted from L-Corp. With some hurried research and phone calls Lena had found archived versions of Lex’s research, discovering his files on ‘Project Medusa’. Now she understood the extent to which Kara had questioned her, Medusa could wipe out every alien in National City, and the missing key to its success was L-Corp’s own isotope 454. Lena had secured the isotope from storage, running numerous tests until she finally reached the result she required. Lucky she was a damn good scientist, her mother would be none the wiser. She was going to have to seemingly betray Kara entirely, but she knew as much as it would shatter her it would be for the right reason. Cadmus’ plan would fail and her mother would go to jail for a long, long time. Lena just had to sell herself to her mother, but years and years of hiding emotional weakness had made her all too good at concealing how she really felt.  
“I didn’t think you’d want to see me again so soon.”

Lena turned from looking out her office windows to meet her mother, “You’re in charge of Cadmus.”  
Lillian rolled her eyes, “If I’m just going to be accused of being evil then I’ll happily leave.”  
“You’re trying to release the Medusa virus. But you need isotope 454, and only L-Corp can give you that.” Lena continued, ignoring her mother’s eye roll. “Ask me for my help, and I’ll give it to you.”  
“It’s that easy?” Lillian cocked an eyebrow, watching Lena intently for any sign of a bluff.  
Lena opened the briefcase sitting on her desk, revealing the isotope, “It’s that easy.”  
“I didn’t know you believed in Cadmus’ vision.” Lillian stepped closer, admiring the isotope.  
“Well, I think there’s a lot you don’t know about me mum. Maybe we can get to know each other a little better.” Lena kept her voice steady and her gaze unwavering.  
“I always knew you were a more of Luthor than you acted Lena.” Lillian smirked.  
“Like mother like daughter.” Lena closed the briefcase, “Ready?”  
Lillian nodded, “Tonight we take back National City.”

* * *

Tess woke up to the DEO’s alarms, the ear-piercing alarm succeeding in waking her instantly. She rolled off the bed, sprinting out of the door and to the control room, finding Winn, Kara and J’onn. “What’s happening?”  
“Isotope 454 is moving from L-Corp.” Winn was typing furiously on his computer.”  
“It’s Cadmus. We need to stop them. Where is it headed?” J’onn asked.  
“To the port, you guys need to hurry.” Winn didn’t look away from his screen as he spoke.  
“Let’s go Tess and Kara.” J’onn started to move towards the exit.  
“Wait J’onn if you go out there you might die!” Kara grabbed J’onn, stopping him in his tracks.  
“I’ve accepted my potential fate already.” J’onn remained stoic.  
“J’onn, Kara and I can handle this I’m sure. It’s safer for you here.” Tess’ suit materialised, her mask covering her face as she finished speaking.  
J’onn shook his head, “You need all the help you can get. I will gladly give my life for this cause. No more arguing, we’re leaving now.” J’onn exited the DEO.  
Kara looked at Tess, shaking her head, “We have to go.”  
Tess nodded, “Let’s go.”

Kara, Tess and J’onn landed at the port, touching down in front of Lena and Lillian. The mother-daughter duo were standing by a guided missile launcher, Lena standing at the controls. Tess suddenly felt overwhelmed, coming face to face with Lillian again felt wrong, and seeing Lena by her side felt like a knife to the chest and caused her hairs to stand on end.  
Kara felt similar, feeling utterly betrayed by seeing Lena standing with her mother, “Lena you’re better than this.”  
“I thought I’d prove to you that I’m a proper Luthor.” Lena turned the keys on the control, smirking in ‘satisfaction’ as the missile launched into the sky.  
“Go Supergirl! We’ve got this.” J’onn yelled, watching the missile shoot into the sky.  
Tess looked in awe as Kara soared into the sky faster than she’d ever seen, chasing after the missile. The awe was quickly replaced as herself and J’onn were slammed into by Hank Henshaw, each of them being thrown away from Lena and Lillian. Tess scrambled to her feet, catching her breath, her eyes darting around looking for Hank and J’onn. They appeared, both locked in combat, Hank’s hands wrapped around J’onn’s throat. Tess sprinted towards them, surging forward and delivering an energy charged right uppercut to Hank, knocking off the metallic mask covering the side of his face.  
Hank retaliated in kind, throwing J’onn at several shipping containers before launching a flurry of punches at Tess, “You both die here tonight!”

Tess frantically ducked and blocked Hank’s punches until he landed one to her gut, causing her to double over and leaving her open for a left hook that sent her sliding across the ground. The punch left her seeing stars as she got back to her feet. Looking up she was met by Lena staring back at her, Lena’s mouth open in shock before she turned and ran after Lillian. Tess was brought back to reality as she was shaken by the earth-shattering sound of J’onn throwing one of the shipping containers he’d been thrown into back at Hank. Hank all but brushed off the assault, firing with his eye at J’onn, sending him back again.  
Tess bolted over, firing her own blasts at Hank. This time his arm snapped out, catching her by the throat. Tess was involuntarily lifted into the air, her throat being crushed under Hank’s incredible grip.  
“You’re not an alien. But you will still die here tonight!” Hank tightened his grip even further around Tess’ neck.  
J’onn roared from the distance, just out of Tess’ vision, “You think we’re all monsters. Let me indulge your fantasy!”  
Hank’s expression turned from one of victory to fear as he watched J’onn transform into his white martian form. He dropped Tess, backing away as J’onn came towards him.  
Tess gasped for air on the ground, watching in shock as J’onn’s white martian form ploughed into Hank, pummelling him into the ground.

It was then that Tess heard the explosion. She looked up, her eyes widening as she saw the growing orange cloud spreading across the sky, “No…”  
Kara swiftly landed next to Tess, pulling her to her feet and putting Tess’ arm around her neck to steady her, placing her own arm around Tess’ waist, “I couldn’t stop it.”  
Tess leant on Kara, looking at the sky before looking at J’onn, “We tried everything…”  
Kara bit her bottom lip, trying to not feel like such a failure, “I’m sorry J’onn..”  
J’onn morphed back from his white martian form, looking up before closing his eyes, accepting his fate.  
Kara and Tess watched on, waiting for the inevitable to happen. Only it didn’t. Kara frowned, “What’s going on?”  
Tess looked around, seeing Lena and Lillian in the distance, “Kara look.”  
  
“They should all be dead.” Lillian was furious.  
Lena smirked, her hands in her pockets, looking up at the sky.  
“You did this.” Lillian spat, venom in her voice.  
“And I called the police.” Lena continued to smirk, looking at her mother, “Maybe I am really a Luthor. But not how you’d like me to be.”  
If looks could kill Lena would be dead, Lillian was enraged, furious that her plan had been ruined, “You’ll regret this Lena.”  
“If you ever get out of jail.” Lena shrugged.  
Lillian was pulled away by the NCPD, swiftly being placed in cuffs and dragged into a police vehicle.  
Lena breathed a sigh of relief, watching her mother being taken away by the police.

“I really believed you’d sided with your mother there for a moment, Miss Luthor.” Kara spoke first.  
Lena turned, her heart rate skyrocketing as she looked at Supergirl and Surge, Kara and Tess.  
Tess still had her arm wrapped around Kara’s neck, “I’m glad you’re on our side instead Miss Luthor.”  
Lena nodded as she kept herself from crying, feeling overwhelmed by the emotions flowing through her. Whilst she’d just saved National City she was still staring at Supergirl and Surge, not Kara and Tess, both of them still not sharing their identities with her. Kara set in her Supergirl persona and Tess’ mask still covering her face. “I guess I should go give a statement to the police.” Lena hung her head and turned to walk away.  
“You did the right thing Lena.” Kara gave Lena a grateful smile.  
Lena nodded in acknowledgement to Kara, turning on her heels. Her heart breaking just a little bit more as she walked over to the police. 

* * *

After Eliza’s curing of J’onn’s white martian problem some tearful goodbye’s had followed, and for now life had settled a little bit back to normal for Alex, Kara and Tess. Kara had ducked out to the shops as amongst all the chaos there hadn’t really been time for grocery shopping. Tess was tucked up on the couch, watching Netflix whilst recovering from the beatings she’d had over the last week, her powers could only do so much. She was deeply engrossed when she suddenly heard two male voices that were not part of the episode. Tess looked over the back of the couch, jumping up in shock as she saw two guys standing in the middle of Kara’s kitchen, “Who the hell are you!?” Tess mustered her energy, her fists lighting up with energy.  
The two guys saw her, both of them freezing and holding up their hands in surrender.  
It was at that moment Kara appeared with groceries, gasping before she dropped the groceries and ran up to the taller of the two men, “Barry!”  
Tess dropped her hands, confused as hell.  
“Kara! We are in the right apartment!” Barry gave Kara a tight hug.  
“I knew it was you! I thought those portals looked familiar!” Kara screeched.  
Tess came over, “Sorry can we just rewind here. What the hell is going on Kara.”  
Barry spoke first, “Sorry, I’m Barry, this is Cisco. We’re from another earth, we kind of need some help.”  
Kara’s stance changed, her Supergirl persona appearing, “What are we up against?”


	9. Chapter 9 - Invasion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here is the crossover chapter. I literally hate it. No matter what I did I feel like this chapter just didn't work, I really struggled with flow and it was way more difficult than I realised to even cover all the characters involved in the crossover. So, with that being said, I hope you guys can get through this chapter and not hate me, if there seems to be a gap of unexplained happenings, please refer to the Invasion crossover as that fills in the gaps. After this chapter I'm not following the season 2 story/timeline at all and I can free myself from keeping things in line with it. My fault for doing that in the first place but I kind of backed myself into a corner to do this crossover chapter. That's why it's so long because I just wanted it out of the way rather than splitting it into two chapters. I promise there are big revelations/big events/more fluff/more awesome in upcoming chapters. Thank you for all the support with kudos, subscriptions, bookmarks and comments, you guys are amazing.
> 
> Content warning: Some coarse language

"Ready guys?" Barry clasped his hands together, watching as Kara, standing in her Supergirl attire, ended her phone call.  
Kara nodded, "Alex and J'onn know we're going off world, it's all sorted. You're sure about this Tess?"  
Tess nodded as well, "I want to help. I'm up for it Kara."  
Kara gave Tess a proud smile, "We're ready Barry." Kara let Cisco move in front of them, "After you I guess."  
Cisco cracked his knuckles, preparing himself before opening a portal, "Alright, here we go ladies and Barry."  
Kara raised an eyebrow at Barry, confused at Cisco's comment but he shook his head, brushing it off before stepping through the portal. Kara reached out her hand for Tess, "Come on."  
Tess rolled her eyes, "I don't need to hold your hand Kara."  
Kara pouted, "But I thought I was your favourite cousin."  
"You're pathetic, you know that?" Tess shook her head, but still smiled as she took Kara's hand, stepping through the portal with her.

Tess took a deep breath of the air, letting go of Kara and noting the ever so slight change in atmosphere as she stepped out into the S.T.A.R labs hangar. She gazed up at the roof before looking down at the large group of people assembled in front of them. The large group of people all staring directly at her and Kara. "I didn't realise there would be so many of them." Tess whispered to Kara, who even looked a little nervous herself.  
Kara puffed herself up, "We've got this. Don't worry."  
"Who's this Barry?"  
Tess looked across to the man that had spoken. His blonde beard was closely trimmed and he had his arms firmly crossed against his chest, his face set in an intimidating stare.  
Barry nodded at Oliver in acknowledgement but addressed the group, "I'd like to introduce you all to Kara Danvers, or as she's known on her earth – Supergirl."  
Kara gave a shy smile to the group, looking at them all in turn.  
"I thought you were bringing an alien, Barry?" Oliver asked again.  
Barry just motioned to Kara who gracefully hovered up in the sky, making a display of using her heat vision to mark out the symbol of the House of El.  
"I'm convinced." Diggle spoke, trying to keep his jaw from hanging open as he looked up at Kara.

"And the other one, Barry?" Sara reluctantly tore her eyes away from Kara, looking directly at Tess.  
Barry motioned for Tess to step forward as Kara landed back down next to her, "This is Tess, not an alien but Kara tells me she's just as impressive."  
Tess just nervously laughed, "Yeah maybe we should keep the displays to just one, don't want to ruin your hangar and everything…"  
"Go ahead. Don't be shy." Barry gave a reassuring smile to Tess.  
Tess looked at Kara, almost asking for permission, receiving a smile and nod, "Alright…" Tess materialised her suit, just to enhance the effect, hovering up just like Kara, before blasting over the House of El symbol, leaving a smoking circle behind instead. Tess landed again, "Sorry I kind of ruined your artwork, Kara."  
Kara frowned, "That was hard to do you know."  
"I said I was sorry." Tess hung her head.  
Kara just chuckled, "I'm kidding Tess. Don't worry."  
Barry spoke up again, "I hope that convinces everyone." Receiving various nods from the group Barry was content, "Alright while we get the brief ready everyone introduce themselves if you don't know each other."  
Kara grinned, "This is going to be awesome."  
Tess sighed, "Your optimism never ceases to amaze me Kara, but I suck at names."

* * *

Tess felt like she remembered Oliver, the scary intimidating dude, Sara, the intimidating yet surprisingly friendly woman, and possibly HR, which didn't even sound like a proper name. But maybe that was just how people did things on this earth, who was Tess to judge. Meanwhile Kara had just finished naming off everyone flawlessly. Tess just sighed, shaking her head, there was a very good reason Kara went by Supergirl. She was in literally every way. Tess just hung back, feeling frustrated that her phone didn't get reception on this earth.  
Kara came over, still buzzing from meeting everyone, "These guys are great."  
Tess looked up from her phone, "They seem like a pretty cool bunch. I didn't realise you had connections from other earths."  
"It's a long story, I only met Barry last time though so these guys are all new." Kara looked around the room; mentally running through everyone's name again, "Looks like we're starting." Kara tapped Tess to stand up straighter as Barry started to talk.

Almost as soon as Barry started talking Tess was lost, as soon as he mentioned the Dominators it was if the world stopped around her. She froze completely, memories flooding back into her head. She remembered fighting them, fighting them until she was surrounded and they took her. She remembered being on their ship, being at the mercy of their experiments. It took all her willpower to refocus her attention back to Barry, but now Kara was talking.  
"These guys are super strong. They came to my planet, did lots of experiments on people. They're incredibly powerful." Kara added to Barry's presentation.  
Tess winced at the mention of experiments from Kara, just trying to keep her expression neutral so that no one around her would notice her behaviour. She looked back at Barry, noticing that HR was silently staring at her, paying no attention to Barry himself. She met his eye, holding his gaze for a moment before looking down at the floor. When she looked back up he was still looking at her, making her more uncomfortable. The rest of Barry's presentation and everyone's input blurring into white noise. She felt a hand on her arm jolt her from her thoughts. She looked up and thankfully saw Kara, everyone else had moved away.  
"Are you okay Tess? You look a little pale?" Kara asked.  
"These guys are the aliens that destroyed my earth. They're the ones that experimented on me." Tess' grimaced as tried to block out the memories.  
"That's not going to happen again, I promise okay? How about you sit out training and just watch okay? Prepare yourself?" Kara reassured Tess.  
"What training? I kind of zoned out?" Tess looked apologetic.  
"These guys are all fighting me. I think we've wrestled enough for you to sit this one out."  
Tess couldn't help but laugh a little, "Ah good times. I think I prefer this though."  
Kara held up her hand, a lop-sided grin on her face, "Me too."  
Tess smiled, high-fiving Kara, "I'm going to go sit over there."

"Barry, Kara, can I have a word with you both?" Oliver called them over having returned from suiting up already.  
Kara looked surprised but came over, "What's up?"  
"You can't hold back in this." Oliver stated.  
"I don't want to hurt anyone though." Kara narrowed her eyes at Oliver, questioning his statement.  
"Oliver's right, you can't hold back. He didn't hold back training me. These guys need the same." Barry agreed with Oliver.  
"I shot him." Oliver added.  
"He did." Barry winced, feeling like he could still feel Oliver's arrows.  
"Ahhkay. Well. Alright. Tess is sitting out the training though. She's already fought the Dominators. And well, me a bit, so there's no point." Kara pursed her lips together, looking at Oliver.  
"Wait, Tess has fought the Dominators before and didn't say anything?" Oliver frowned.  
"I didn't know until now that these guys are the same aliens that Tess faced on her earth." Kara shrugged at Oliver.  
"Surely that would have been useful information to share with the rest of the team, Kara." Oliver stated, unimpressed at Kara casually brushing off the question.  
"Oliver I'm sure it wasn't intentional." Barry noticed Oliver's underlying agitation, not wanting it to escalate.  
"As team _leader_ Barry," Oliver placed particular emphasis on the leader part, "I think you need to utilise all the intel you can so that our mission can succeed. Go talk to her now or I will."  
Barry paused, "Oliver I think it can wait until after training."  
Oliver shook his head, "No it can't Barry, we need to know exactly what we're up against so that training can actually be worthwhile. I'll go ask then."  
"Oliver wait be gentle!" Kara called after Oliver as he walked away, looking for Tess.

Tess was leaning against the side of their training set up, waiting for the rest of the teams to return from suiting up. She looked up, standing taller as she noticed Oliver walking with purpose towards her, followed by Kara and Barry.  
"You've fought these aliens before. Were you planning on sharing that information with us any time soon?" Oliver's tone was firm, a slight threat underlying.  
Tess once again had the memories invade her mind as she looked up at Oliver, "We lost. I didn't think it was worth mentioning."  
"Surely there's something worth mentioning?" Oliver narrowed his eyes.  
Tess squared herself up to Oliver, glaring at him, "I'm sorry let me explain. Let me tell you about the part where the billions of people on my earth died a horrible death. My earth was destroyed. We didn't win. We lost. The only thing I can tell you is that they are ruthless, unrelenting and powerful. If they're here your planet is in trouble."

"Wait, you're from Earth 52?" HR appeared from behind Oliver.  
Tess inhaled sharply as she looked at HR, temporarily losing her composure, something that didn't go unnoticed by Oliver.  
"The Earth 52?" HR came closer, his head cocked curiously.  
"What are you implying by that?" Tess glanced at Oliver, trying to remain stoic.  
"The one run by a dictatorship, lots of crazy messed up things. Got obliterated by it's own 'protectors' apparently." HR rambled.  
Tess remained silent, too stunned to say anything coherent.  
"It makes sense; your outfit looks like their tech, just with a different overlay. I knew I'd seen someone with similar powers to yours before." HR nodded as he combed his memory, dropping pieces into place.  
"How would you know that…" Tess clenched her fists at her side, trying to remain calm.  
"You know your earth took over others right? They had the tech, they would scout out other earths, see if they were worth invading or just destroying. They sent a scout team to my earth once." HR continued.  
"Hold on a second, is this true?" Oliver cut off HR, keeping his gaze directed at Tess.  
Tess shook her head, "I didn't know about the scout teams, I didn't know about the other earths." Tess' hands started to fidget as she played with them nervously.  
Oliver shook his head, "I can't trust you Tess. You're off the team until further notice."

Tess tried to respond but no word were coming out, she felt like she'd just been hit by a truck, her stomach twisting inside.  
"Oliver that's not fair! You can't just assume because of her past that she's not trustworthy. We all make mistakes, I'm sure you made mistakes as a teenager too." Kara stepped in front of Tess, blocking her from Oliver.  
"Kara has a point." Barry agreed, "This isn't fair Oliver. We need all the help we can get."  
"No. We need people we can trust. I'm trusting Kara because you trust her Barry. Both of us know nothing about Tess apart from what we've just found out, including that she's apparently not even an adult! She's off the team, intel only from this point." Oliver walked away, unwilling to argue further.  
Barry looked at Kara, unable to offer anything, "I'm sorry. I'm already on thin ice with everyone I have to go with this."  
"Don't worry about it Barry. I've got this. Just don't start without me." Kara turned around, wrapping an arm around Tess before super-speeding out of the hangar with Tess.

Kara stopped out in some of the fields near the hangar, looking around to check they were alone before returning her attention to Tess. "Tess, hey, hey…look at me." Kara cupped Tess' face in her hands, making her look at her, "Let's just take some deep breaths together alright."  
Tess looked at Kara, dissolving into tears, "How did he know all that…"  
Kara pulled Tess into a tight hug, running a hand through Tess' hair gently and giving her a kiss on the forehead, "I'm so sorry honey. I didn't know. I wouldn't have brought you along if I had."  
Tess rested her head on Kara's shoulder, trying to take slower breaths.  
"It get it, it hurts. I always thought Krypton was perfect, it was only when I got to earth that I realised it wasn't." Kara whispered, continuing to hold Tess tightly.  
"It still wasn't as screwed up…" Tess spoke, the words muffled as she said them into Kara's cape.  
Kara sighed, "Maybe not. But what's important is that both of us are our own person. Just because you're from that earth doesn't mean you're like that."  
Tess nodded, taking a deep breath, turning that so that she could look up at Kara, "It's not just that."  
Kara looked down at Tess, still holding her tight, "I'm listening."  
"I'm scared." Tess whispered, afraid of admitting the truth.  
Kara frowned slightly, "Of what?"  
"Of the Dominators…after what they did last time I just…I don't want it to happen again." Tess admitted.  
Kara shook her head, letting go of Tess so she could look her properly in the eyes, "You're stronger now Tess. Besides, no matter what I've got your back. You can always count on me. Always. We're family now."

* * *

Kara and Tess had returned to the hangar, Tess sitting close to the group she referred to as the 'nerds' whilst watching the group fighting Kara get absolutely pummelled. She had to admit she was enjoying watching Oliver get beaten more than she should be.  
"So I take it you're a meta too?"  
Tess' attention was dragged away from the fight, noticing Cat? Wait no Caitlin, had come up to sit next to her. Tess looked puzzled, "I'm sorry I don't know what you're asking?"  
Caitlin smiled, "Maybe they use a different term on your earth? People with powers, we call them meta-humans."  
"Oh um, I don't know. I was born with my powers. I mean kind of, sort of. It's complicated." Tess struggled to figure out how to explain her life to Caitlin without scaring off the woman.  
Caitlin smiled, "Isn't it always. No judgement from me here. I promise."  
Tess paused; staring at Caitlin running over the possible reactions she might receive before just shrugging, screw it. She'd already seen HR talking to them all, it was likely Caitlin already heard a little about her. "I guess I don't really know how I got my powers, you're either born with them or you're not."  
Caitlin nodded, listening intently, "So it's not just your suit?"  
Tess shook her head, "No, my suit just enhances everything. The powers are all me." Tess glanced back at the fight, before swiftly looking back at Caitlin,  
"Wait, you asked if I was a meta too? Do you have powers?"  
Caitlin paled slightly, "Yeah I do. But it's, well complicated."  
"So did Oliver ban you from the team as well?" The corner of Tess' mouth quirked up, shaking her head thinking of Oliver again.  
"It's a self-ban. Like I said, it's complicated."  
Tess noticed Caitlin's sudden avoidance of eye contact, choosing to drop the subject, "Fair enough. I'm not one to judge."

Finally Kara relented on everyone, pausing as she looked at the group trying to pick themselves back up off the floor. "Want me to keep going?" Kara was met with a chorus of groans as she landed from her hovering. Twisting on her heels with her cape flowing behind her as she walked, Kara paused as she saw Barry and Cisco starting to argue. All of a sudden the entire group was listening.  
"You changed the timeline Barry?" Sara piped up, weighing in on the situation.  
Barry looked at everyone in the group in turn, "I did…I went back in time and created what I called Flashpoint. I didn't know what effect it would have and now I can't take back what's happened."  
"You just messed with the timeline? That's exactly what we've spent all our time trying to fix. Do you know how tempting it is to go back and save my own sister? But I don't because it's not up to me to play god Barry!" Sara looked incredulously at Barry; unable to believe he could be so reckless.  
"Guys I don't want to interrupt but the President has just been kidnapped!" Felicity shouted from behind everyone.  
All eyes landed on Felicity, Barry speaking first again, "Alright, you guys go as a team. I'll stay back."  
"Guys this is ridiculous! Either Barry comes or I don't either." Oliver yelled.  
Everyone paused, but Diggle spoke, "I guess you're staying here."  
Kara ran up to Barry and Oliver, "I can handle this. We'll go get the President, don't worry about it." Kara turned to leave before quickly looking back, meeting Tess' eyes across the room, and mouthing 'be good' before giving Oliver a warning, "Be nice to Tess while I'm gone."

Tess watched Kara leave, and it hurt a lot more than she expected. Kara still did plenty of her own missions back at home, but it felt odd watching Kara go off with others to a mission instead of her. At the same time she just hoped Kara would be careful, the Dominators were no joke.  
"I think we should head back to S.T.A.R labs." Caitlin suggested to the remaining team members.  
"What for?" Barry asked.  
"Well this equipment is great but S.T.A.R labs is better equipped, and if anyone get's hurt I would rather my equipment there..." Caitlin trailed off, hoping Barry would just agree.  
Oliver nodded at Caitlin, "That sounds like a good idea."  
"Alright, let's pack up what we need from here, let's leave the rest. Communicate where we'll be to the rest of the team, Cisco." Barry ran a hand through his hair, taking a deep sigh.  
"Already onto it Barry." Cisco didn't even glance at Barry as he worked.  
Barry felt exhausted just from dealing with the group and he hadn't even fought any of the Dominators yet.  
Iris came up to him, putting her arms around his neck and giving him a quick kiss, "Don't be so hard on yourself, Barry."  
Barry nodded, "I'm trying."  
It was at that moment that Tess came up to the group, "Is there anything I can do to help?"  
Caitlin pulled her aside, "Come with me, you can help me."

Caitlin and Tess loaded up a S.T.A.R labs van together, mostly with Caitlin's equipment before they'd driven back to S.T.A.R labs together. Tess felt comfortable around Caitlin but was surprised at just how much she noticed Kara's absence. It had been roughly four months, give or take, since she'd arrived on Earth-38, but those four months had been the best four months of her life. Now, here she was, on Earth-1, working with a group fighting aliens that she'd encountered on Earth-52, her former 'home'. The multiverse worked in strange and mysterious ways.

* * *

"Shouldn't we have heard back from the team by now?" Caitlin frowned at Cisco, concern clouding her features.  
Tess stood behind Caitlin, thinking about all the horrible things the dominators could have done to Kara and the rest of the group.  
Cisco nodded, "We definitely should have. This is bad."  
Felicity tapped a few buttons on the S.T.A.R labs screens, bringing up a video feed to the outside, "Uh I think we definitely have a problem."  
Iris, Joe and HR looked between each other, each of them processing the disaster that was presently occurring.  
Barry and Oliver ran up to the group, "What's going on?" Oliver demanded.  
"I don't know but our people are trying to break in or something." Felicity so fast almost no one could understand.  
Barry nodded, grabbing Oliver and super-speeding them to the outside of the lab.  
The group watched on the screen, Cisco swapping between camera feeds constantly to track Barry and Oliver's movements.  
Wally appeared in the room, taking in the situation briefly before speaking up, "What's going on?"  
"I think they're under some sort of mind-control." Caitlin offered.  
"They need help." Wally pursed his lips together, looking between Joe and Iris.  
"You're not going out there Wally!" Iris glared at Wally.  
Tess materialised her suit, making eye contact with Wally and giving him a small nod, "He's right, they need help otherwise they're going to get their asses kicked."  
As they spoke Barry and Oliver were both lying on the ground, struggling to get back up, with the mind-controlled team members closing in.

Before any counter-argument could be mounted, Wally sped out of the room, taking Tess with him.  
Wally sped past the Barry and Oliver, dropping Tess in front of them before running past the heroes attacking from the ground, pushing them all away as he moved at super speed.  
Tess braced herself mere seconds before she was assaulted by Firestorm's blasts, Ray's blasts and Kara's heat vision. It burned as she just barely managed to contain the energy, waiting until the trio stopped firing before she subsequently catapulted the energy back in their faces. She felt a twinge of guilt at launching an attack but quickly turned, holding out a hand to help up Barry and Oliver.  
Barry took it gratefully. Oliver hesitated before using the hand up.  
Wally started to cheer before he was launched into the air by Kara, sending him flying into the wall of S.T.A.R labs and knocking him unconscious.  
Tess turned on her heels, being greeted by Sara's boot in her face.  
Barry yelled at Kara, trying to get her attention, succeeding and speeding off with her in pursuit.  
Oliver fought next to Tess, both of them fighting furiously in hand-to-hand combat with Tess occasionally blasting at Firestorm and Ray.

Tess held out her arm, preparing to fire off a blast at Ray before Thea wrenched her arm around, succeeding in both dislocating her shoulder and elbow before Tess could even react. Tess hissed in pain, clutching her arm before kicking Thea away.  
Oliver grabbed her by the other arm, pulling her to her feet, "We need to retreat."  
Tess obliged willingly, running with Oliver into S.T.A.R labs, Oliver briefly pausing to throw Wally over his shoulder, both of them fleeing as they continued to be pursued by Sara, Diggle and Thea. "How many arrows do you have left?" Tess asked as she ran with Oliver.  
"Not enough." Oliver grunted, "Felicity! Cisco! Barry needs to shut down that mind control now!" Oliver shouted, hoping they would understand the urgency.  
Tess felt her energy being sapped, her powers trying to heal her arm but being unable to due to the dislocation.  
The duo continued to sprint down the corridor, Oliver cursing as the reached a dead end. "Get down Tess!" Oliver put Wally down before swinging his bow around, using it as a weapon itself.  
Tess fired some blasts but she was basically down to a fizzle, she hadn't had a chance to charge before rushing outside to help.

Just when they felt all hope was lost, the heroes stopped, holding their heads in confusion and leaving Oliver and Tess' hearts pounding in their chests as they realised it was over.  
Tess groaned and slid to the floor, "Thank you Barry."  
Thea scrunched up her face, shaking the mind control from her head, "We nearly killed you guys."  
Tess held her arm, breathing heavily as she looked up at Thea, "No kidding."  
Oliver breathed a sigh of relief, "Let's get back inside."  
Sara came over, kneeling down in front of Tess, "I didn't do this right?"  
Tess shook her head, "Nope, this was Thea."  
Thea cringed, "Sorry…that looks painful."  
Tess closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the wall, "I think that's how I would describe it."  
Sara slowly helped her to stand, "I mean at least we didn't kill you. There's no fixing that."  
Tess forced out a laugh, leaning against Sara as she held her arm close to her chest, "Thanks for that."

* * *

Tess was dropped inside, before the group headed back outside to meet Barry. Tess sat up on the medical bed, grimacing as Caitlin examined her arm.  
"Usually these would be done under a general anaesthetic, but given the circumstances we don't exactly have that readily available." Caitlin pursed her lips, gently feeling Tess' arm, "I would probably get an X-ray as well…"  
Tess bit the inside of her cheek, hard, trying to breath through the pain, "If you put it back I'll heal it's fine."  
"Guys we have a problem!" Barry sped into the room, "The Dominators just kidnapped a bunch of the team! Oliver's gone, so is Sara, Thea, Ray and Diggle!"  
Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing until Felicity came running in, "They've got Oliver! And Sara and-" Felicity stopped, completely out of breath.  
"We know, Barry's just told us." Iris answered Felicity, going over to give her a hand.  
Tess looked up at the commotion happening outside the window, something was wrong, "Wait, Caitlin. You need to find out what's going on first. Where's Kara?"  
Caitlin gently set Tess' arm down, "Don't move a muscle. By the time I get back the pain killers should be working."  
Tess winced as Caitlin came round, giving her an injection in her uninjured arm, "Just go find out where Kara is. Please."

Tess was left alone for what felt like an eternity with her arm throbbing at her side. She still didn't know what was going on outside, Caitlin had drawn the blinds as she left so that Tess was cut off from the rest of them. It was probably to give her some dignity as without Caitlin's body blocking her from view, she was a little exposed with to the group back in her regular clothing with her t-shirt off. She closed her eyes, trying to tune into the voices from outside but the pain from her arm made it incredibly difficult to concentrate on listening for proper words.  
"Tess! Oh thank Rao. I thought maybe you'd been taken too."  
Tess was jolted from her thoughts by Kara's voice, breathing a sigh of relief, "You're safe."  
"Of course." Kara came closer, gasping a little at Tess' arm, "I didn't do this right?"  
Tess shook her head, "It looks worse than it is, it's just dislocated. It wasn't you though. I told Caitlin to help out the group first before this."  
"I thought you could just heal though, are your powers working?" Kara rested a hand on Tess' knee, a hint of concern present.  
"No they worked really well against your heat vision." Tess quickly backtracked as she saw Kara's jaw tighten, "Don't worry I just can't heal it because it's not where it's supposed to be. Plus I'm a little drained because my powers don't know it can't heal it. Not very helpful, but on the bright side I think the pain killers are setting in."

Caitlin came back in through the door, walking back over, "Cisco and Felicity are working to track down Oliver and the rest of the team. We'll probably need you again Kara."  
Kara nodded, "Alright, but not right this second?"  
"No, not right this second." Caitlin positioned herself next to Kara at the head of the bed, "Even though I gave you drugs this is still going to really hurt. Like a lot. I have to do your elbow and then your shoulder."  
Tess raised an eyebrow at Caitlin, "That was very reassuring. And by very I mean not."  
Kara moved round, taking Tess' uninjured hand in her own, "Feel free to squeeze my hand."  
Tess gave Kara's hand a gentle squeeze as Caitlin took hold of her arm, "Lucky you're invulnerable. But surely it won't hurt that much." Tess barely finished her sentence before Caitlin moved her elbow back into place and she yelled out in pain, squeezing Kara's hand incredibly hard.  
Kara put her free hand on Tess' shoulder before lifting it to tuck a loose strand of Tess' hair back behind her ear, "Breathe Tess. You're doing well."  
Tess' face was scrunched up in pain but she tried to laugh it off, "That wasn't so bad."  
Caitlin swiftly moved her hands up to Tess' shoulder, feeling around momentarily before relocating her shoulder also.

"Please tell me you're done!" Tess yelled, breathing heavily as she continued to squeeze Kara's hand.  
"We are done. Sorry about that." Caitlin started to get out a sling from the equipment storage cabinet but Tess stopped her.  
"I'm good now, don't worry about that. Thank you though."  
Kara grabbed Tess' top, "I think you'll need this instead."  
"Thanks Kara." Tess gratefully took the top, slowly pulling it back on.  
A knock on the door caught all their attention, Caitlin yelling for the person to open the door, it was Cisco.  
"Sorry to interrupt. Kara, we need you to go with Barry. We've found something."  
"No problem. I'll be ready in a sec." Kara replied.  
"Wait, I can come with you both. As back-up." Tess looked pleadingly up at Kara.  
Kara pursed her lips together, "I think it's better if you stay here Tess. This is going to be a long night. Give your arm some time to heal and get some rest."  
Tess' face fell, Alex had told her practically the same thing just the other day, "Alright. Fair enough. Just be careful."  
"I think I should be the one telling you that instead." Kara gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before disappearing from the room.

"She really cares about you."  
Tess stood up off the bed, tilting her head at Caitlin's comment, "Yeah I guess you could say that."  
"It's nice, having someone that cares about you like that." Caitlin looked a little distant as she spoke.  
Tess paused, unsure of what to say, "Thanks again Caitlin. I mean it."  
Caitlin returned to her cheery smile, "No worries. I would say any time but I don't want to do it again."  
Tess exited the room, scanning the group, noticing Wally was absent. She waited for a while, watching the group work and when no one paid her too much attention she disappeared to explore the building.

* * *

"I'm not exactly sure if you should be in here."  
Tess froze, slowly turning around, a smile slowly crossing her face as she met Wally's gaze. "You're okay."  
Wally gave her a lop-sided smile, "And so are you."  
Tess' smiled in return, "I guess you heal fast too?"  
Wally nodded, coming over, "Perks of the powers hey?"  
Tess studied Wally as he came over, "You still have dirt all over your face though."  
Wally touched his cheek, pulling his fingers away covered in dirt, "Ah, so I do."  
Tess laughed, "It was really brave of you going out there though. Thanks for taking me on your moment of glory. I was hoping you got my message from across the room. Reading minds isn't one of your powers too right?"  
Wally wiggled an eyebrow and smiled, "Maybe it is."  
Tess rolled her eyes, but smiled back at Wally, "I think that's a no. Why shouldn't I be in here too?"  
Wally was caught now, struggling to find words, "Uh. Um…"  
"Yes?" Tess crossed her arms, waiting for him to elaborate.  
"I don't even know what this does. It could be dangerous." Wally ran a hand through his hair, trying to pretend like he knew more than he really did.  
"I kind of like danger." Tess smirked, before brushing past Wally, giving him a small slap on the back as she went.  
Wally inhaled sharply, before turning on his heels and jogging after her, "Hey wait!"

* * *

Kara returned with Barry and the others in the early hours of the morning, the device they recovered being used by the team to help recover Oliver and the rest of the kidnapped team members. Kara was exhausted, right now she wanted to curl up and sleep for hours, and she hadn't even really fought the Dominators yet.  
"There's some spare beds around S.T.A.R labs you can crash in if you need Kara. The legends are handling everything right now, they don't need us for now." Barry patted Kara on the back, giving her a tired smile.  
Kara nodded, "Thanks Barry. We worked well together."  
"That we did Supergirl." Barry gave her one last smile before leaving.  
Kara gave Barry a small wave, finding Caitlin sitting in the lab still, "Hey Caitlin. Where's Tess?"  
Caitlin looked up from her screen, pausing, "Uh. I don't know actually. She is around somewhere."  
Kara sighed, realising she had to go find Tess when she just wanted to sleep for at least an hour before they needed her again. She thanked Caitlin before using her super hearing, listening for any clues. She frowned as she heard laughing, walking to the location and opening the door.

Tess and Wally's heads darted to Kara, the two of them sitting on the floor of one of the S.T.A.R labs storage rooms, close enough that their shoulders were pressed together.  
"Oh hey Kara. You're back." Tess spoke, grinning at Kara.  
"I thought you were going to get some rest?" Kara briefly glanced at Wally before looking at Tess.  
"I was, but then Wally started to tell me this funny story…" Tess trailed as she saw Kara's disapproving look.  
Wally quickly stood up, "I guess we should all get some rest."  
Kara narrowed her eyes at Wally, "You have dirt on your face."  
Wally let out an awkward laugh, "Yeah Tess told me that."  
Kara scrutinised Wally, remaining silent.  
Wally rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "I think I'm going to go now."  
Tess pouted, "Bye Wally."  
Kara grabbed Wally as he tried to go past her, whispering in his ear, "She's way too young for you."  
Wally gulped, "Bye Tess." At that Wally quickly ran past Kara, leaving the two alone.  
"I like him. He's nice." Tess stood up, coming over to Kara.  
"Oh I bet. Now let's go get some rest." Kara put her arm around Tess, pulling her in the opposite direction to which Wally had gone.

* * *

After a few hours of somewhat restless sleep, the team was back together at the S.T.A.R labs hangar. With some hard work from the legends and the device Barry and Kara had recovered, they'd managed to rescue Oliver and the rest of the kidnapped team members. The new president had requested the team's attendance at a meeting. After a quick briefing Oliver pulled Kara aside, "I need you to stay behind on this Kara."  
"What, why!?" Kara gaped at Oliver, her face scrunching up in confusion.  
"You're a variable in this situation. An uncontrolled one. I can deal with meta-humans but aliens are just a step too far right now." Oliver explained.  
Kara recoiled in disbelief, "So you're kicking me off the team because I'm an alien? Is that it?"  
Oliver kept his expression firm, "Please Kara. Just stay behind on this one."  
Kara couldn't believe Oliver had the audacity to exclude her over being an alien, but deep down she knew there were battles more important to fight, "Fine. I'll stay behind. What about Tess."  
"No." Oliver spun on his heels, leaving with most of the team.  
Barry noticed Kara staying behind, "Hey Kara are you coming?"  
Kara shook her head, delivering a curt reply, "Nope."  
Barry seemed confused, but decided not to push it, "Alright, we'll see you soon." Barry pulled his cowl back over his head before speeding out after the rest of the team.

"I don't know why we bothered coming." Tess was standing behind Kara, her arms crossed.  
Kara yelled as took a chunk out of one of the hangar's concrete supports.  
"Whoa!" Tess came running over grabbing Kara's forearms and holding them together, "I know I can probably hold you down for second before you'll win but I think you shouldn't punch holes in the building supports. Just a thought."  
Kara was breathing heavily trying to keep her anger in check but she didn't pull away from Tess.  
Tess slowly let go of Kara, observing Kara as she did, "I've never seen you so angry before. It's kind of terrifying…"  
Kara snapped out of her rage, closing her eyes for a moment before refocussing on Tess, "Sorry Tess. It's just so frustrating, Oliver thinks he can just boss everyone around."  
"You're telling me. Oliver knew me for all of five minutes before he kicked me off the team. Probably for good reason but still. I get it." Tess gave Kara a little smile.  
Kara nodded, "Yeah, I guess we're both off for now."  
"So it seems." Tess paused her eyes lit up with an idea, "Hey can we go do something?"  
Kara's brow furrowed, "Like what? We can't get ourselves into something."  
"No, no, just a small 15 minute trip while we wait for the team to come back?"  
Kara folded her arms, "Alright what?"  
"Can we go get donuts? Please?" Tess pleaded.  
Kara's eyes lit up, "That is an excellent idea."

Kara's face lit up as she bit into her donut, "Donuts make everything better." Kara spoke with her mouth full. They'd found a donut shop in Central City and were sitting together on the ground in a park nearby.  
Tess laughed, "You have icing everywhere Kara."  
Kara took another giant bite of her donut, "I don't care."  
Tess grinned at Kara, taking a bite of her own before speaking again, "I kind of hate Lena for introducing me to donuts. My figure will never be the same again."  
"Like you have anything to worry about." Kara rolled her eyes, finishing off her donut.  
Tess laughed again, "I don't have a Kryptonian metabolism like you."  
"Oh, oh! We should get a photo. For Alex." Kara pulled out her phone, turning on the front facing camera.  
Tess frowned, "What are you doing?"  
"It's a selfie, a photo of yourself!" Kara held it up in front of them, "Now smile."  
Tess rolled her eyes at Kara, holding up her half eaten donut for the photo and grinning.  
Kara laughed as she looked at the photo, "Alex will love it."  
Tess paused, her smile dimming, "Wait, Kara."  
Kara put her phone away, directing her full attention to Tess, "What's up?"  
"I don't think I've said this yet. But thank you. For everything. You're amazing and…I love you. I don't think I've said that to you yet."  
Kara smiled, "You have actually. But I think you were sleep-talking."  
Tess gasped, "I didn't. Really?"  
Kara laughed and nodded, "You did. It was pretty cute. I tucked you in and everything."  
Tess felt her cheeks redden, "Well that's embarrassing…" Tess leant her head on Kara, trying to hide her face in Kara's shoulder.  
"No it was cute. You're kind of like the little sister I never had. And I love you too." Kara gave Tess a quick kiss on her head.  
Tess took a moment to feel less embarrassed before sitting back upright, "We should probably head back."  
Kara sighed, "We definitely should."  
Tess stood up, finishing the rest of her donut as she did. "Now I'm going to kick a Dominators ass. Whether Oliver approves it or not."

* * *

Kara and Tess returned to the hangar, finding the rest of the team returning from their mission, minus some of the Legends and the science team.  
Barry saw them both, coming over to them, "Just in time for a team meeting."  
"Good news I hope?" Kara gave Barry a hopeful smile.  
Barry shook his head, "You'll find out in a minute. Hey everyone I think we need to discuss the situation." Barry paused as everyone gathered around. "The Dominators want me to turn myself over and I think we should do it. If it's me or the world, then there's no question. I have to do it."  
Kara was stunned, not expecting the result of the team's mission.  
"Barry don't be ridiculous." Sara spoke up, "You're part of this team and we're not handing you over."  
"I think it should be my choice." Barry glanced at Sara before looking at the rest of the team.  
"I think it should be a team decision Barry." Oliver kept his gaze firmly on Barry, his jaw set in determination.  
"No it has to be done. You can't change my mind Oliver. You can't stop me." Barry turned around, pacing as he accepted his decision.  
"I think we can Barry." Oliver looked around the team, getting a chorus of nods as they all stepped up.  
"You and what army?" Barry looked back around, his jaw dropping slightly as he was met with the team, each one of them looking ready to fight Barry if it came down to it.  
Kara answered, her arms firmly folded across her chest and her lips pursed together, "This army."

There was a long silence as Barry was overwhelmed by the support. After being all but disowned by most of the team it meant the world to have everyone's support back. Barry slowly nodded, agreeing with the team's decision, "Thanks guys. This means a lot. But the reality is, the Dominator's still have a bomb that's going to kill millions. If I don't give myself up they're going to detonate it."  
"We can deal with that Barry. Cisco has already helped the Legends come up with a plan for dealing with the bomb." Sara glanced across at Jax, giving him a nod. "What we don't have is a plan for the rest of the Dominator's, they're ships are setting up across the globe."  
"Actually we do." Caitlin appeared with Martin from S.T.A.R labs, "Thanks to Martin's daughter we've got a weapon we can use against them."  
"Then we've got the upper hand. I think we need to act now. Sara, get to the Waverider with Cisco. Felicity and Caitlin, stay here monitor the Dominator's presence. Everyone else with me. We're taking the fight to the Dominator's." Oliver finished speaking before realising he wasn't actually team leader, looking back at Barry.  
Barry just laughed, "What he said."  
Oliver went to leave, but was blocked by Kara and Tess, Tess' arms crossed and Kara's hands on her hips. Kara speaking up, "This time we're coming with you. Both of us."  
Oliver's jaw twitched as if he was about to disagree, but he didn't, "We need all the help we can get."

* * *

With all the pieces in place, the team moved into action. Sara and Cisco flew off in the Waverider, the remaining team members deployed themselves to the meeting spot they had agreed with the Dominators. A rooftop in downtown Central City. Where they were supposed to be handing over Barry, but that was not happening. It was quite a sight to see, all of them steeling themselves for the fight. Oliver and Barry lead the team, bringing up the front of the group. At their sides were Mick, Amaya, Nate and Diggle. Bringing up the back was Firestorm, Ray and Kara and Tess hovering side by side.  
Tess pursed her lips together tightly, catching sight of the first Dominator she'd seen face to face since she'd been experimented on. She caught Kara glancing at her, but she stayed strong. She was ready this time.  
"The deal's off." Barry spoke, his voice steady and firm, "I'm not handing myself over."  
"Then the deaths of every meta-human on this planet will be your responsibility." The team heard the Dominator leaders voice reverberate through their heads.  
"I'm afraid not." Oliver yelled, drawing an arrow back and firing it towards the Dominator's.

At that it all began, the team splitting to each take on a Dominator of their own. Kara soared above the team, punching Dominators and using her heat vision to stop them from hurting team members.  
Tess was pummelling her own Dominator, punching and kicking, alternating her physical attacks with energy blasts.  
Meanwhile Barry was dashing between Dominator's, placing the devices Martin and his daughter had designed.  
It was exhausting fighting the Dominators after the last 24 hours, but the team was putting up a solid fight. Tess caught Diggle struggling out of the corner of her eye. Tess darted to the side, launching herself at the Dominator fighting Diggle and knocking it off balance long enough for Diggle to recover. He gave a curt nod as thank you before she returned to fighting her own Dominator.  
The Waverider was soaring above them, the meta-bomb caught in its traction beam.  
Kara soared past Tess, her attention diverted to something other than the Dominators. Oliver had just been knocked off the building roof, but Kara swiftly saved him, returning him to the roof.  
Things were beginning to ramp up, with the Dominators starting to fight back even harder as more of the aliens were dispatched by the team. Tess watched as both Kara and Barry disappeared from the fight, along with Firestorm soaring up to the Waverider to the meta-bomb.

It took all of a minute until the Dominator's started to fall to the ground in agony, the planted devices causing them pain. Swiftly after Tess looked to the sky, watching as the meta-bomb exploded into harmless liquid, the work of Firestorm. The whole team was breathing heavily as the Dominators started to leave, quickly evacuating back to their ships.  
Barry and Kara returned, both of them watching as the Dominator's swiftly retreated. "We did it." Barry was ecstatic, unable to wipe the grin off his face even though he was puffed out from running all over.  
"Yes we did." Even Oliver felt a smile tugging at his lips.  
Tess came over to Kara, her lips pulling into a smile as Kara put her arm around her shoulders, "We won this time."  
Kara gave her a squeeze, looking pleased, "We did."

* * *

Tess was so not about to get onstage with the team to accept the president's thank you. She was watching Kara proudly, distracted as she saw Mick and Sara both glance across at Kara, whispering something to each other.  
"I thought you would be up there too?"  
Tess jumped at the whisper behind her, her eyes lighting up as she saw Wally. "You came!"  
Wally tucked into the space next to her, looking up at the presentation, "I didn't want to miss the celebration."  
"Is that all?" Tess smirked, adjusting her posture.  
"I thought I should come say goodbye too." Wally blushed a little.  
"Well I think we're still celebrating after this. You don't have to say goodbye just yet." Tess moved a little closer to Wally so that their arms were brushing against each other.  
Wally smiled, "Lucky us."

After the presidential presentation was over, the true celebration began, out came the champagne and the off came the super suits. It was nice to see everyone back to their usual selves. Kara was talking to Oliver and Barry, while Tess and Wally sat over in a corner talking to each other.  
Tess laughed at Wally's joke, glancing over at Kara, her eyes widening in shock as she saw her hug both Oliver and Barry. She hit Wally's arm, motioning for him to look, "What the hell is that!"  
Wally laughed, "Wow she must have done something right. Oliver's always so stoic."  
Tess continued to grin, chuckling to herself at the idea.  
"Hey, how about you come with me to look at one more Central City night sky?" Wally stood up and held out his hand.  
Tess stared at Wally's hand for a few seconds before taking it, "I would love that."  
Wally walked Tess outside to the side of the hangar, both of them looking up at the stars.  
Tess let herself have the moment, staring up at the night sky, "I don't think I'll ever get used to stars."  
Wally watched Tess as she looked up, a shy smile creeping up his face, "They're beautiful hey?"  
Tess nodded, dragging her eyes from the stars to look back at Wally and winking at him, "You're not too bad yourself."  
"Kara said you were…" Wally trailed off, nervously running his hand through his hair.  
"Oh I am. Definitely too young." Tess smirked, coming forward and giving Wally a kiss on his cheek, "Doesn't mean I don't think you're cute though."

Tess left Wally in his shocked state, walking back inside the hangar, frowning as she saw a group of government officials leaving. She searched for Kara, finding her talking to Cisco.  
Kara saw Tess out of the corner of her eye, coming back into the hangar, with a stunned Wally appearing a few steps behind her. She quickly looked back at Cisco, gesturing at the portal device he'd just given her, "I guess I should use this to take us both back home. Tess!"  
Tess came over, Barry, Oliver and Sara also gathering around, "Home time?"  
Kara nodded, shooting a dirty look at Wally before turning around to turn on the device, a portal appearing in front of her.  
Tess paused, taking in the S.T.A.R labs hangar one more time before looking at Sara, Oliver, Barry and Cisco in turn, "It was fun meeting you guys."  
Barry gave her his signature smile, "It was a pleasure to meet you too Tess. I'm glad Kara's looking after you."  
Tess held out her hand to shake Barry's hand, instead receiving a surprising hug, "Thanks Barry."  
Oliver had his arms crossed, giving Tess a nod, "You did good kid."  
Sara smirked, shaking her head at Oliver, "That means he thinks you're pretty decent."  
Tess chuckled, "Noted. You guys were pretty awesome out there yourselves."  
Kara tapped her on the shoulder, pulling her attention to the portal; she glanced back at Wally one last time, giving him a wink before going through after Kara.

* * *

Kara sighed as she stepped back into her apartment, Tess coming through behind, "Home sweet home."  
Tess' shoulders slumped in exhaustion, "I want to sleep for a week. And I barely did anything."  
Kara hummed in agreement, "I want to sleep for a week too. I'm exhausted."  
"But one of us flew across the globe and took out a hell of a lot more Dominator's than me." Tess gave Kara a pointed look.  
"Well one of us didn't find a boyfriend." Kara looked down her glasses at Tess.  
Tess rolled her eyes, "I just thought he was cute. He's way too old for me."  
"Well the next guy better ask me first before he thinks it's a good idea to ask you out. " Kara put her hands on her hips.  
Tess groaned, "Kara like it was that serious. I just gave him a kiss and that's all."

Kara's eyes nearly popped out of her skull, "You what?!"  
"On the cheek! That was it! It's not like I'm ever going to see him again probably. We literally live on different earth's." Tess held up her hands defensively.  
Kara shook her head, "You are unbelievable Tess."  
"But you said you love me anyway. You can't take that back." Tess paused, suddenly unsure, "Wait you can't take that back right?"  
Kara laughed, coming round and pulling Tess into a giant hug, "No I can't, and I wouldn't. I love you even if you go after guys who are way too old for you."  
Tess sunk into the hug, hugging Kara tightly in return.  
"We should really get some sleep." Kara muttered into Tess' hair.  
"Yeah if you don't let go of me I'm going to fall asleep standing up." Tess yawned, starting to feel the exhaustion truly setting in.  
"That's fine I'd just tuck you into bed again." Kara smirked, knowing Tess would be embarrassed.  
Tess let go of Kara, feeling her cheeks redden, "We are never mentioning that again."  
"I don't know. I think Lena would think it was cute too. Alex certainly did." Kara laughed.  
Tess punched Kara's arm playfully, walking to the bathroom to get ready for bed, "You're the worst!"  
Kara continued to laugh, "But you still love me!"  
"Maybe not for much longer!" Tess yelled from the bathroom.  
"We just agreed you can't take it back, Tess!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You made it, I applaud you, and if you just skim read, I still applaud you. I'd just like to clarify that Wally and Tess are not about to become a couple. I just thought it would be fun to chuck it in there after talking with one of my reviewers who thought it might be cool to see! That is all!


	10. Chapter 10 - Family Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author Note: Here's the next chapter! Hopefully a little insight into what is to come in future. I decided to leave this chapter at the length it is for fear of cramming too much into one chapter. Big events are coming, and things are going to get quite...dark. Soon there's going to be quite a tone shift so I hope you're all ready! I hope this chapter gives Alex some proper love, I feel I've been neglecting her a bit so I hope this makes up a little for it. In saying all that, thank you everyone once again for your interest in my story and all the kudos, subscriptions and comments! I know I sound like a broken record but you guys are truly amazing and I feel honoured that you are reading my work. Please don't hesitate to let me know if there's something you'd like to see in this story! Now disregarding all that blab I really hope you guys like this chapter!
> 
> Content Warning: Some coarse language, references to childhood trauma

Tess woke up to knocking at Kara's front door, groaning before sleepily pulling herself out of bed. She shuffled towards the door ready to open it. She threw a quick glance into Kara's bedroom, her eyes widening as she noticed Kara was hovering in her sleep. She quickly ran to the bedroom, shutting the door as another knock sounded at the front door and she heard Lena's voice. She yawned, reaching the door, unlocking it and pulling it open just enough for her to look out. "Oh, Lena. Hi."  
"Tess! Sorry am I interrupting something? Is Kara around?" Lena adjusted her bag, tilting her head slightly to peek further around the door.  
Tess pulled the door open, exposing herself in her pyjamas still, "I'll be honest and say I woke up to you knocking. Kara's here but she's actually still asleep."  
"Oh. I should probably come back later then?" Lena looked a little disappointed.  
Tess shrugged, "I can wake up Kara if it's important. Or I can…probably figure out how to make you coffee or something while you wait? Are you in a rush?"  
"I'm not in a rush, really I was just coming to check on you and Kara. She didn't answer my texts."  
Tess motioned for Lena to come in, closing the door behind her as Lena came in, "Oh we had no reception."  
"Really?" Lena sat down at the kitchen table, "What place doesn't have reception these days?"  
Tess kicked herself for not just saying they'd had phone trouble, she had no clue how to answer Lena properly, "Ridiculous right?" Tess decided to just avoid giving a solid answer, biting the inside of her cheek as Lena's eyebrow twitched upwards ever so slightly.

"I guess more importantly how are you feeling?" Lena changed the subject, causing Tess to let out a little sigh of relief.  
"I'm fine, I owe you for that night." Tess gave Lena a thankful smile, "I don't know what I would have done without you."  
Lena couldn't help herself from reaching out, dragging her thumb gently over Tess' eyebrow where Alex had stitched up the wound on her face, "I can't believe it healed so quickly." Lena mumbled almost to herself rather than Tess.  
Tess stood still, letting Lena touch her face but avoiding eye contact. Alex and Kara had been right about how difficult it would be to explain her miraculous recovery to Lena, but she hadn't expected to see Lena so soon again. Even though it felt like it had been weeks, it had only been about four days since she'd last seen Lena, at least not in her vigilante attire. She was about to pull away when a thud sounded from Kara's room.  
Lena's hand snapped back, her eyes darting to Kara's bedroom door, "What was that?"  
Tess ran to Kara's door, "Don't worry, just stay here I'll tell her you're here."

Tess opened the door, quickly shutting it behind her before seeing Kara splayed out on the floor.  
Kara sat up, her eyes wide, "What the hell. What time is it? Why am I on the floor?"  
"It's 10am, you were sleep…flying or something and Lena's sitting in the kitchen." Tess whispered, filling in Kara.  
Kara reached up to her nightstand, grabbing her classes and shoving them on her face, "Why is Lena here?"  
"I don't know. I just let her in." Tess shrugged.  
"Tess..." Kara gave Tess a pointed look.  
"Yeah I know, probably a dumb idea, but she's in the kitchen. There's nothing I can do about it now." Tess opened Kara's door, stepping back out.

"Lena?" Kara composed herself, stepping out into the kitchen in her own t-shirt and pyjama shorts, her glasses slightly crooked in her haste to put them on.  
Lena's head snapped around from the kitchen, looking Kara up and down, her eyes lingering just a little too long, "Kara. Sorry to intrude."  
Kara came over, opening her arms for a hug, "No it's not a problem. I can't believe I was still asleep, I totally slept through my alarm. My boss is going to kill me."  
Lena accepted the hug, pulling Kara into a tight hug, "Need me to make some calls?"  
Kara laughed, "I couldn't ask you to do that."  
Lena pulled away from the hug, sending a quick text, "Consider it done."  
"Lena! You shouldn't have." Kara shook her head, smiling at Lena.  
"Kara, it's 10am and you've just woken up and you're still in your pyjamas. I don't think you're making it into work today." Lena smirked as Tess chuckled at the comment.  
"Alright you got me. Was there something you wanted to come talk about?" Kara pulled out some cups to make coffee, Tess cringing as she realised she hadn't made Lena one yet.  
"You just didn't reply to my texts, I thought I'd come check on both of you…" Lena sat back down, looking between Tess and Kara.  
"Oh I'm so sorry, I didn't even see them. We've been…away." Kara's eyes shifted to Tess, raising a single eyebrow to query if that was the story Tess had gone with.  
"Yeah I told Lena we had no reception." Tess nodded, brushing past Kara to get some orange juice out of the fridge.

Kara placed a cup of coffee in front of Lena, sitting down opposite, there was a short silence between them before Kara suddenly gasped, "Your mum! Are you alright Lena?"  
"Oh you heard? The devil herself is rotting in jail." Lena's eyes shifted, taking a sip of her coffee.  
"I heard from Supergirl that you helped stop her?" Kara reached across the table, placing her hand on top of Lena's.  
Lena looked at Kara's hand on her own before dragging her eyes up to Kara's face, pausing. There was that crinkle in Kara's forehead again.  
"Hey, how about we go get a real coffee? Isn't the National City parade on today?" Kara gave Lena a lop-sided smile, hoping she'd say yes, "I mean you're already here when you should be at work like me, so can't you take the rest of the day off?"  
Lena chuckled, rolling her eyes at Kara, "Like I would be caught dead at a parade Kara."  
Kara smirked, "But I would. Come on Lena! It'll be fun."  
"Wait like…a military parade?" Tess interjected, confused as to why Kara thought it would be a fun activity.  
"You've never been to a parade Tess?" Lena stared at Tess quizzically.  
"No? Should I have?" Tess shrugged.  
"Well, see that's exactly why we have to go. Come on Lena, I promise it'll be worthwhile. And if not, maybe we can go eat something with kale."  
Lena smirked, "I'm holding you to that."  
Kara grinned, "Just let us get changed first."

* * *

"I don't get it. What is this supposed to mean?" Tess' nose was wrinkled up in confusion, staring at the parade floats going past. Kara, Lena and Tess had found a somewhat clear spot on the National City boardwalk that had a decent view of the parade. They were still surrounded by a large group of people.  
"It's not supposed to mean anything it's just for fun!" Kara was grinning from ear to ear as she watched the parade floats.  
"I don't get it either." Lena shook her head, rolling her eyes at Kara's enthusiasm.  
"This earth does weird things for fun." Tess let slip before she even realised what she said.  
Kara and Lena's heads both darted to her, Lena looking confused and Kara looking shocked.  
"This earth?" Lena asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"I meant…this city. The wrong word came out. I'm still tired, my brain and mouth didn't connect properly..." Tess cringed, trying to recover, "Wait weren't you two going to get coffees?" Tess quickly tried to change the subject.  
"Yeah coffee! I'll get you a hot chocolate too Tess, you stay here and keep our spot." Kara grabbed Lena's arm, pulling her away before any arguments.

Tess cursed as Lena and Kara moved away, kicking herself for slipping up so badly. After their trip to Earth 1 she had forgotten that she couldn't just speak to everyone about different earths. She sighed, looking back up at the parade before looking around the crowd, taking in the variety of people around her. At least everyone else was enjoying themselves. She was about to look back up at the parade when her eyes met with a man further down in the crowd. He was staring at her intently, Tess narrowed her eyes as she tried to pick out his features. He just wouldn't stop staring. She moved to walk a little bit closer to try and get a closer look, starting to feel like he really did look familiar. His face was set in a smirk, causing Tess to feel uncomfortable. But she felt like his identity was just at the corner of her mind, like she'd forgotten who he was.

The pieces were almost ready to click into place when Tess felt a tug on her jeans. She jumped in suprise before she looked back up, seeing the man had disappeared completely from her view. She cursed again before frowning as she looked down to see what was pulling on her.  
"Tess I don't wanna walk anymore. Can you carry me?"  
Tess was completely stunned, looking down into a smaller set of her bright blue eyes. It took her a moment to process but she knew exactly who this kid was. He was her little brother. Well, the Tess from this earth's little brother. Her head darted around, searching for his family, for the other her, but they were nowhere to be found, and neither were Kara or Lena still. How the hell was this kid standing at her feet?  
"Tessssss." The kid dragged out, whining as he tugged at her jeans again and held his arms up to be picked up.  
Tess was frantically trying to think what the hell she was going to do, where was his parents, where was the other her, and what was taking Kara and Lena so long. Her heart was literally pounding in her chest; the other Tess didn't even live in National City. This was never supposed to happen. After a solid minute she was dragged from her thoughts as she started to hear crying. She quickly looked down, seeing her, no the other Tess', little brother starting to dissolve into tears. She quickly scooped him up, sitting him on her hip, his arms instantly wrapping around her neck. "Hey! I'm sorry –" Tess searched the absolute depths of her memory to try and remember his name. After a ridiculous pause she remembered – Max.  
"Max! I'm sorry Max. Don't cry!"  
Max sniffed profusely, his tears slowly stopping as he pushed his face into the crook of her neck.  
Tess all but froze, this felt completely unnatural for her. She'd never really dealt with kids, and certainly not like this.

"Uh Tess?"  
Tess looked to her right, meeting eyes with Kara and Lena, both of them looking very confused at Tess' current predicament.  
"Um. Why do you have a kid attached to you?" Kara had her coffee and Tess' hot chocolate in her hands, her forehead crinkled heavily as she stared at Max.  
"And who is this kid?" Lena added.  
"And where are his parents?" Kara added again.  
"And why are you holding him?" Lena decided to add again.  
Tess' eyes darted between Kara and Lena as they continued to ask questions, "Okay stop!" Tess felt Max move in her arms, turning his head to look at Kara and Lena from under her chin.  
"Tess who are they?" Max attempted to whisper but Kara and Lena both heard him.  
"You know this kid?" Lena's frown only deepened as she saw Max' eyes, a perfect match with Tess'.  
"Uh no. Not really. He just appeared at my feet. His name is Max." Tess looked at Kara, trying to signal with her eyes that the issue was bigger than some random kid.  
"Can we go back to mum and dad Tess?" Max looked up at Tess, getting impatient with the conversation.

Kara was having difficulty trying to read the situation, she could see Tess was struggling to describe the exact situation with Lena standing at her side. "Um, Lena maybe you can call the police? See if they've had reports of a missing kid? I would but my hands are full."  
Lena tore her eyes from Tess and Max, looking at Kara and nodding, pulling out her phone with her hand that wasn't holding coffee.  
Kara watched as Lena moved through the crowd to make the call, quickly coming up to Tess, close enough to whisper in her ear, "Okay who is this kid?"  
"He's my little brother. I mean the Tess' from this earth." Tess whispered back.  
Kara's jaw went slack and her eyes went wide, nearly dropping their drinks, "What?"  
Tess nodded profusely, "I'm not kidding. That's why he won't let go of me! He thinks I'm his sister!"  
"Wait so when his family comes..." Kara trailed off.  
"The other me probably comes too!"

Tess bit the inside of her cheek, wondering what the hell they were going to do.  
Kara gulped, "How the hell do we explain that."  
Tess shrugged, "I don't know! We're identical!"  
"I want mum and dad!" Max gripped Tess tighter, his eyes starting to well up with tears again.  
Tess directed her attention back to Max, adjusting him on her hip, "Hey mum and dad will be here soon. You'll see them any moment now."  
Kara guided Tess through the crowd to where Lena had exited so that they weren't surrounded by people anymore  
Lena looked up, hanging up her phone, "The police are actually with a family now that reported their kid missing, they're sure it's the same kid. The family will be here in a few minutes."  
If Tess' heart wasn't already pounding, it was going a million miles an hour now. She saw Kara's head tilt to the side ever so slightly, looking at her with concern.  
"That's good right? You two are looking at each other like that's a bad thing?" Lena raised an eyebrow, curiously observing Kara and Tess.  
Kara nodded, "Of course. That's great! His parent's must be worried sick right now."  
Tess numbly nodded; there was no way she was going to get out of this now.

* * *

Less than five minutes later, a police car pulled up, its lights flashing as it parked on the curb. The doors opening as a police officer and three people got out.  
The older woman's eyes locked on Max, everything else seemingly unimportant as she ran towards Tess and Max.  
Max held his arms out, "Mummy!"  
The woman instantly took him into her arms, squeezing him tight and peppering his face with kisses, "Max we were so worried!"  
The man and younger woman quickly ran over also. The woman holding Max turned, being pulled into a group hug by the two. The moment lasted for what felt like an eternity, before the woman passed Max to the man, "I can't say thank you enough." The woman turned to face Tess, her sentence abruptly ended as she looked at Tess, confusion settling on her features.  
Tess' breath hitched in her throat, she felt like she couldn't physically take a breath anymore. Here she was, face to face with her mother. It was surreal, this woman was exactly the same as her mother, but still there was softness to this woman that her mother had never possessed. This woman's eyes were not hardened by poverty and oppression.

The woman's head darted around, looking back at her daughter, before staring back at the girl in front of her, an identical copy. Without even meaning to her hand shot out to feel Tess' cheek, her thumb gently caressing her face.  
Tess was completely frozen in place, her eyes glistening with tears, barely able to keep her jaw from quivering.  
The woman's hand lingered, her eyes searching Tess' for answers. If she didn't know any better she would swear this girl was her daughter. But her posture was wrong, her shoulders broader, and her eyes were not innocent. The eyes she loved getting lost in were not the same, behind them was struggle and pain, anger and self-doubt, loss and sadness. This was not the daughter she had raised, no matter how similar they looked. She slowly removed her hand, pursing her lips, "Thank you. We were worried sick."  
Tess just nodded, still unable to say anything coherent. She looked behind the woman, meeting eyes with the other Tess. The other Tess looked shocked, looking her up and down for a few moments before her attention was dragged back to Max, who was holding his arms out to be picked up just like earlier.  
Tess looked away, unable to look her dad in the eyes as well.

Lena and Kara were observing this whole interaction. Kara's heart was breaking in two as she saw Tess' reaction. She remembered what it felt like to be under the influence of the black mercy parasite last year. Having your perfect family within reach, but realising they weren't really yours. It was devastating enough for Kara and that was a hallucination, she could barely imagine what it was doing to Tess right now with her family physically in front of her.  
Lena was utterly stunned, gazing between Tess and the other girl who was identical. She knew that there were, when she'd first met Tess she'd found that out. She didn't know why, but she'd come to the conclusion that maybe it was an oversight, as if the old Tess' record hadn't been deleted. But now she was staring at two of them. They weren't the same person. At least the family looked as confused as she did, but Lena wasn't easily confused.

The family slowly moved off, leaving Tess behind, feeling the cold where moments ago Max's little body had been pressed tightly into hers.  
The police officer came up to her, "Thank you miss. Did you see where the kid came from? The family thought someone took him off."  
Tess shook her head, "No. There was no one." Tess turned, taking her hot chocolate from Kara and taking a drink, not caring that the liquid was still scalding hot.  
"Is that all officer?" Kara used her now free hand to wrap her arm around Tess' waist, keeping Tess from running off like she'd just gone to do.  
The police officer nodded, "I guess if you didn't see anything then there's no point. The kid probably just ran off. They're all together now. Thanks again."  
Kara nodded, giving the officer a smile as he turned and went back to his patrol car.

Tess was facing the opposite direction to Lena and Kara, still being held by Kara, who was literally using her super strength to keep her in place one handed. Her eyes were tightly closed and her hands almost crushing her drink as she tried to calm herself down.  
Lena was distracted by an incoming phone call, frowning as she looked at Kara before she moved away again, taking the call.  
Kara breathed a small sigh of relief, her hand loosening around Tess so she could move round in front of her, "I've got you."  
Tess collapsed into Kara, being mindful of both of their drinks as she pressed her face into Kara's shoulder, remaining silent.  
Kara ran her hand through Tess' hair, kissing her forehead, "You're okay. You've got this. I've got you."  
Tess took a deep breath, her free hand wrapping around Kara as tightly as she could, her eyes still tightly closed as she concentrated on breathing slowly with Kara.  
Kara rested her cheek on Tess' head, rubbing her back as she looked at the crowd and Lena.

It took them until Lena hung up on her phone call for Tess to pull away from Kara, her composure once again intact. Tess took a deep breath as she turned back to Lena, giving the woman a fake smile.  
Lena noticed the smile didn't quite reach Tess' eyes, but she wasn't about to confront Kara or Tess about their double lives right this moment, "Everything okay?"  
Tess nodded, taking a sip of her drink, "Perfect."  
Kara smiled at Lena, adjusting her glasses, "Do they need you at L-Corp?"  
Lena looked puzzled for a moment before she realised Kara was referring to her phone call, "Oh, no. Just some bland investor wanting to schedule a proposal."  
Kara laughed, "I take it you said no."  
Lena smirked, "I just pushed his appointment to as far away as possible. I am not in the mood for any more bland proposals."  
Tess finished off her drink, chucking it in the bin nearby before jumping slightly as her own phone buzzed in her pocket with a message. She pulled it out, seeing it was from Alex.  
**"DEO. Now. Just you."**  
Tess frowned, concerned as to the bluntness of Alex's message, she nudged Kara, "I have to go."  
Lena looked at Tess, raising an eyebrow, "Where are you running off to? I only came to this parade because of you!"  
"I do believe it was Kara that dragged you along. Alex wants me for something. Said it was a surprise." Tess gave Kara a quick hug before giving Lena one also, surprised as to how open the CEO was to accepting it.

Tess was about to leave when Kara's hand reached out to grabs hers, stopping her in her tracks.  
"Tess. Be safe." Kara let go, giving Tess a look overflowing with love and concern.  
Tess nodded, "Always. Love you.."  
"Love you too." Kara sighed contentedly as she watched Tess duck off into the crowd.  
Lena stood next to Kara, close enough for their arms to brush together, "I think you two are getting along a lot better now."  
"I think so too." Kara tore her eyes away from the crowd to look at Lena.  
"I mean it's usually impossible to get a teenager to say 'I love you'. Let alone one like Tess." Lena smirked.  
Kara chuckled, "I guess I just understand where she's coming from a lot better now. It certainly hasn't been lollipops and rainbows."  
"I guess anyone that has Kara Danvers in their life gets their fair share of lollipops and rainbows." Lena raised an eyebrow at Kara, a smirk still plastered on her face.  
Kara scoffed, "I can be serious when I want to be! I just also like lollipops and rainbows!"  
Lena sipped her coffee, rolling her eyes at Kara, "Of course.."  
"I also like food and not being starving." Kara winked at Lena, "Can you spare some more time off for the day?"  
"You are unbelievable Kara. But yes, I think I can spare some more time, I know some places that make great kale salad." Lena grinned.  
Kara grimaced, "I guess I owe you."  
"100%."

* * *

Tess landed in the DEO, being greeted by Alex and Maggie, Maggie's hands on her hips and Alex's arms folded across her chest. "Well…this is mildly intimidating."  
"Follow me." Alex uncrossed her arms, walking away, leading Tess and Maggie to her lab.  
Tess was concerned when Maggie softly closed the door behind them, locking the door, "Uh…what's going on?"  
"We have an issue." Maggie spoke up first.  
"Yeah an issue with acting vague as hell." Tess frowned.  
"Tess. Shut up. Please." Alex sighed.  
Tess pursed her lips together, doing as Alex said for once.  
"We've got four murder victims. And so far the only suspect is you." Maggie continued.  
Tess' jaw went slack as she looked between Alex and Maggie, "Uh. What?"  
"Four victims, six witnesses. Every single one of them saying that it looked like you. Well, Surge." Alex's expression was blank.  
"Look we're not accusing you of it. Alex said you and Kara were away for two days, which accounts for three of the deaths, but the first happened while you were still here." Maggie came over to Alex's workbench, pulling out four pictures of the victims.

Tess swallowed thickly, coming over, recoiling in horror at the pictures. Every victim looked like it had had the life sucked out of it, their bodies shrivelled beyond recognition, "What the hell!"  
"I know, the bodies don't look like they've been attacked by you. But security footage all backs up the witnesses. It looks like someone with your powers, and the only person people know of is you. I thought maybe it's parasite but autopsy results came out differently." Alex sighed, frowning as she noticed some sort of recognition in Tess' horrified expression. "You can't do this right?"  
Tess avoided looking at Alex or Maggie, shifting nervously from foot to foot, "Did they die of rapid ATP and mitochondrial depletion?"  
Alex watched Tess, "I…think that sounds right. Wait how do you know that?"  
"Rapid ATP and mitochondrial depletion followed by immediate cardiac and respiratory arrest? Practically destroyed neural connectivity?" Tess bit her lip as she looked back up at Alex.  
Alex slowly nodded, "Tess what are you getting at."  
Tess took a deep breath, "I can do that. I don't but I can. It's what happens if I try and absorb energy from people instead of other energy sources."  
"What the hell?" Maggie tried to keep her jaw from hitting the floor.  
"It's the worst. Even if I wanted to, it's incredibly difficult, and for some horrible reason it means I absorb their memories too. I think I've done it twice apart from…well the day my earth died but…I didn't do this." Tess felt like her world was crumbling apart for the second time that day. Why couldn't she be happy just once.  
Alex could see the hole Tess was falling into, coming forward and putting her arm around her, "Hey. Like we said we're not accusing you of this. But…someone clearly is."  
"But it means right now you need to lay low, you can't go out as Surge until we get to the bottom of this. The NCPD has ordered media silence on this but that's only going to last so long. No coverage is good coverage." Maggie stated.

Tess slowly nodded, leaning her head on Alex's shoulder, "Is there anything linking the victims so far?"  
"Not yet. We're still working on it." Maggie pulled out her phone, "I have to go. I'll let you both know if anything comes up. Promise." Maggie came over to Alex, giving her a quick peck.  
Alex blushed as she watched Maggie leave, running a hand through her hair as she bit the corner of her lip, "I want you staying at my place for the time being okay? I know you love Kara but it's easier for me to make sure you're not breaking rules. Hate me if you want but that's final."  
"Do you honestly think I hate you Alex?" Tess looked taken aback.  
"Well yeah you kind of act like it!" Alex threw her hands up in defeat.  
"Alex…you. You…" Tess was lost for words.  
"I what? What Tess?" Alex pursed her lips together, staring at Tess.  
"You are…" Tess stared at the ground before looking Alex in the eye, "You are smart, and kind, and thoughtful, and caring, and honest, and…and a total badass. I don't hate you Alex. I want to be you! You have saved my life on multiple occasions, you have let me slip into your life even after I have done so much to hurt you. You and Kara are so inspirational it hurts, because I feel like I can never be like you. I have never loved anyone so much, not even my own parents! I do _not_ hate you Alex. I never have. I'm just a total bitch sometimes, and I'm sorry that somehow it's always directed at you instead of Kara. But I don't hate you, and I will never hate you Alex. I need to get better at saying it but I love you. I really, really love you Alex. You are the best cousin, big sister, mum, whatever, that I could ask for. And I love you." Tess had barely finished before Alex had engulfed her in the tightest hug. Tess hugged Alex back tightly, "I'm sorry…"  
Alex shook her head, kissing Tess' forehead, "Don't be. I love you too."

Tess sighed against Alex's shoulder, "I met my family today."  
"What?!" Alex moved so she was holding Tess by the shoulders in front of her.  
Tess nodded, fidgeting with her hands as she stared at the floor, "I saw the other me, my mum and dad and…the little brother I have here. Max."  
"I thought they didn't even live here?" Alex spoke softly.  
"They don't. They live out in Keystone City…" Tess looked back up at Alex, trying to keep her emotions in check, "Max thought I was his sister. Wanted me to pick him up and everything, even started crying when I didn't. But my, I mean the other Tess' mum…she could tell. She looked at me like I was…" Tess choked on her words, struggling to keep herself together anymore, "Like I was damaged or something."  
Alex's heart broke a little as she pulled Tess back into a hug, "You are not damaged. You're you. It doesn't matter if she doesn't love you because Kara and I do. We're your family here, okay?"  
Tess nodded, holding onto Alex tightly, "Don't leave me. Ever."  
"As long as you promise not to leave too. Kara would be devastated. I guess I could cope." Alex tried to lighten the mood.  
Tess gasped, pulling away, "Alex! That's not funny!"  
"I'm kidding! I would be just as devastated. You're a pain in the ass but it's kind of endearing." Alex smirked.  
Tess glared at Alex, "You're a pain in the ass too."  
Alex shrugged nonchalantly, "Then we're even."  
Tess groaned, "Ugh so not fair."  
Alex grinned, giving Tess another kiss on the forehead, "But you said you love me so no take backs."  
Tess rolled her eyes, "You Danvers sisters are unbelievable. "

* * *

"Thank you so much for the lunch Lena." Kara gave Lena a tight hug, sighing as she pulled away.  
"I thought maybe you could use the adult conversation. And a break actually, you look exhausted." Lena smiled warmly at Kara, but her expression held some concern.  
"Exhausted would be an understatement. Things have been so chaotic lately." Kara's shoulders slumped slightly as she loosened her demeanour.  
"I would imagine."  
Kara adjusted her glasses, looking at Lena curiously, "What is that supposed to mean?"  
"You're looking after a teenager Kara. It's a given." Lena thought she would neglect to mention Supergirl's involvement in her mother's arrest and everything else the Kara had been up to.  
  “I think she’s doing a lot better. That wasn’t actually the first ‘I love you’. I got one just the other day so I think we’re progressing well. Even if the first one was when she was half asleep.” Kara shrugged, not registering Lena's subtle underlying tone.  
"I think everyone loves you Kara. Including me. It was never going to be that hard to get that I'm sure." Lena chuckled slightly, watching as Kara blushed ever so slightly.  
"Yeah but, with her history and everything it's kind of a big deal."

"Does that have anything to do with the scars she has? The ones all over her abdomen?" Lena queried, her brows raised in a questioning manner.  
"I haven't asked." Kara answered sharply, her eyes narrowing at Lena.  
"I'm not meaning to overstep Kara. I just know from personal experience that sometimes putting childhood trauma into a box instead of talking about it can be counterproductive. I thought maybe-"  
"I don't need to be told how to deal with childhood trauma Lena." Kara cut off Lena, her features hardening into a tortured anger that Lena had never seen on her before.  
Lena slowly nodded, realising that she had in fact overstepped just a little too far, "I didn't realise I'm sorry…"  
Kara took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure, "It's fine. I think it's a good reminder that we both don't know everything about each other yet. Let's leave those lines uncrossed for now. Okay?"  
Lena bit her lower lip, the irony of Kara's words not lost on her, of course there were things she didn't know about Kara still, but now she knew there were multiple reasons Supergirl was called the girl of steel. It wasn't just to do with her bulletproof abilities. "Of course. I'm sure there's plenty we still don't know about each other. I appreciate that I feel like I can let you in on my secrets though. I hope you feel the same."  
The corner of Kara's eye twitched, but she forced a smile, "Of course. What else are friends for."  
Lena looked away, placing her hands in her coat pockets, "If there's anything you need. Just ask."  
"Thank you. That means a lot." Kara looked over Lena, hating how much she felt like she'd just given Lena an invisible punch to the gut.  
Lena gazed back up at Kara, the faintest of smiles tugging at her lips, "What are friends for?"

* * *

It was late, very late. But even so, Tess was staring up at the ceiling of Alex's apartment. She'd been texting Kara from the relative comfort of Alex's couch until midnight, but after a few jobs as Supergirl and after recent events Kara had told Tess she really needed to sleep and couldn't stay up any later. Alex had already gone to bed hours earlier, leaving her alone with her thoughts for far too long already. She sighed, rolling over on the couch, giving her a view of Alex's bedroom and Alex's sleeping figure. She groaned at herself, trying to talk herself out of it, but before she knew it she had slipped off the blanket on top of her and was tiptoeing over to Alex's bed. She paused, watching Alex sleep for a moment or two before she bit the bullet, "Alex?"  
Alex let out a groan, pulling her pillow tighter.  
"Alex…." Tess spoke a little louder.  
Alex groaned again, frowning in her sleep.  
Tess rolled her eyes, "Alex!"  
Alex's eyes shot open, frowning as she looked at Tess and spoke sleepily, "Tess? What time is it?"  
Tess shrugged, "Late. Really late. I can't sleep."

Alex sighed, sitting up on her elbows, "What's going on?"  
Tess pointed to Alex's sheets, "Can I?"  
Alex nodded, watching as Tess slowly slid into the bed next to her, "Is this about today? Do you want to talk about it?" Alex lay back down, rolling so she was face to face with Tess.  
"What if other people from my earth made it here?" Tess whispered, afraid that if she spoke normally it might make it true.  
Alex paused, mulling over the thought in her mind, "I mean…"  
"I'm probably being ridiculous right? There were five billion of us. Millions with powers like mine. Of course I wasn't the only one." Tess interrupted.  
"Tess stop. What would happen if someone else came?" Alex reached over, pulling Tess close to her.  
"I don't know." Tess muttered into Alex's chest, tucking herself into Alex.  
"Then there's no point worrying about it. I'm sure Kara's already told you but we'll keep you safe no matter what. I promise." Alex gently rubbed Tess' back, hoping it would help calm her.  
Tess tried to tuck herself even tighter against Alex, "But I'm worried that someone's already found me."  
Alex pulled back so that she could look at Tess properly, "What do you mean?"

"There's this guy. I've seen him twice now. I can never get a good look at his face, but I think I know him. My gut is telling me it's not a good thing either. And now there's people trying to frame me for killing? I just, I can't cope with something bad happening to anyone because of my past." Tess sighed.  
Alex frowned, concerned that Tess hadn't brought up this information prior, "I think the best thing we can do now is sleep. We can talk about this more in the morning, with Kara and Maggie. Don't worry about it tonight."  
Tess nodded, avoiding Alex's gaze, "Can I stay here? Kara's let me sleep in her bed a few times when I've been…"  
Alex pulled Tess close again, "Of course, we're family."  
Tess tucked herself into Alex once more, "I love you Alex."  
"I love you too Tess." Alex replied, smiling a little as she felt Tess relax against her further.  
Tess closed her eyes, content to listen to Alex's steady heartbeat as she fell asleep.  
Alex waited patiently; keeping herself awake until she felt Tess' breathing even out before she let herself fall asleep as well.


	11. Chapter 11 - Separation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me way longer to get up than expected I'm so sorry! At least it's long, but I'm not sure I'm providing quality over quantity! Not 100% happy with this chapter but I just want to get to the next one which I've already got a lot completed of! Thanks for all your kudos, subscriptions and comments, as always it means the world to me. Please let me know if you have any feedback or suggestions for this story!
> 
> Content Warning: Coarse language, graphic violence.

Alex woke up to her alarm, groaning as she reached without looking to turn it off. She sighed heavily, squinting as she opened her eyes to the first light of the morning. She looked across, seeing that Tess was still asleep right next to her. It was probably one of the few times Alex had seen Tess look so peaceful. She carefully shuffled out of the bed, watching Tess as she grabbed her clothes to get ready. Satisfied she hadn't woken her up, Alex took her clothes to the bathroom, having a quick shower before reappearing in her DEO uniform. Even when she came back out Tess was still asleep, so she tiptoed into the kitchen to get breakfast.

Alex was about halfway into her cereal when Tess finally woke up, quickly searching for Alex, "Morning sleepyhead."  
Tess sat up, rubbing her eyes before looking at Alex, "What time is it?"  
"7:30." Alex took another spoonful of her cereal, watching Tess slowly crawl out of bed.  
Tess came over, yawning heavily as she stretched, "I forgot how much earlier you get up than Kara."  
"One of us has super speed." Alex pointed out, checking her phone.  
Tess yawned again, giving Alex a hug from behind briefly before she moved to the couch, turning on Alex's TV to watch the news.  
"Hey who said you can watch TV in the morning?" Alex frowned disapprovingly before she was distracted by a message from Maggie.  
It read: " **Don't turn on the news."  
**Alex sent a confused response, " **Why?** "  
" **Just don't. I'm coming over, be there in 10."  
**Alex frowned, confused as to Maggie's cryptic messages before she looked up at the TV, nearly choking on her cereal as she saw the story the news was playing.

Tess was staring at the screen, her jaw clenched tightly shut as she saw the headline: ' _New vigilante on murder spree'._ A shaky video clip came up, showing an alleyway with two figures at the end, one was surrounded by an aura of energy similar to Tess when she used her powers. The video cut off suddenly, Tess jumping in her seat as she looked up to see Alex holding the remote, reaching out to grab it "Alex! Put it back on!"  
Alex held the remote out of reach, "Just forget you ever saw that Tess."  
Tess stood up, trying to tackle Alex for the remote, cursing as the few inches Alex had on her height came in handy, "Alex!"  
Alex kept holding the remote out of reach, trying to push Tess off without hurting her, "No! It's not worth watching!"  
Tess tried to swipe the remote from Alex before she felt herself being pulled away, her head darting round to see Kara in her super suit.  
Kara held Tess by the waist just a little off the ground and a few feet away from Alex, her gaze firmly directed at Alex, "What the hell is going on?"  
Alex grimaced as she looked at Kara, "Uh I was going to tell you…"  
"You knew about this already and didn't think to tell me?!" Kara looked stunned, her grip on Tess still firm.  
"I was going to! But when we actually had a lead, it wasn't supposed to go on the news!" Alex ran a hand through her hair, avoiding Kara's gaze.  
"This is serious Alex!" Kara frowned angrily.

Tess gently patted Kara's arm around her waist, "Can you please put me down now Kara?"  
Kara's eyes darted to Tess, looking puzzled before she realised she was still holding her off the ground. She quickly let go, letting Tess drop to her feet, "Sorry…just what the hell is going on?"  
"We don't know yet. We're trying to figure it out." Alex sighed, "I didn't tell you because I thought you could use a day off after your trip off-world. I only told Tess yesterday I swear."  
"Alright fine I'll look past that. Who the hell is this person killing people pretending to be Tess?!" Kara motioned to the TV that was still turned off.  
Alex opened her mouth to answer until she heard frantic knocking at her door, "Hold that thought." Alex quickly ran to the door, opening it to Maggie.  
Maggie burst through, her eyes instantly landing on Kara, "Well I guess Kara knows now."  
Alex closed the door, "Yeah I think that's a given."  
"I'd appreciate you both explaining exactly what's going on." Kara crossed her arms, unimpressed.  
"We've found a link connecting the victims." Maggie watched as Alex straightened up, watching her intently. "They're all ex-Cadmus associates."  
"What does Cadmus have to do with this?" Kara frowned, glancing at Tess before keeping her gaze firmly on Maggie.  
"We don't know. I assume that the killer is associated with Cadmus but we don't have any leads as to the killer still. We don't know if the killer is a member of Cadmus or is just being paid to take out the targets." Maggie explained.

"That has to be what Lillian wanted my blood for. She's managed to give other people my powers and now she's trying to frame me for it because she's in jail." Tess chewed on her bottom lip, "How could she give people my powers? That doesn't make any sense."  
"I think what matters more is we stop these guys before they kill anyone else. We can figure out the how later." Maggie answered.  
"No I want to know. How about I go talk to Lillian in prison? Kara maybe you can help spin the press to side with Tess at Catco?" Alex offered.  
"You're not going to see Lillian by yourself!" Kara argued.  
"You've taken too many days off work, if I was your boss I would have fired you already. You need to go to work Kara." Alex gave Kara a firm look, showing she didn't want to argue.  
"Well what about Tess?" Kara motioned to Tess.  
"She can come with me." Maggie shrugged, not seeing an issue.

"What?! Maggie no." Alex looked stunned.  
Tess jumped at the opportunity, "Alex I was in the police on my earth! Tagging along with Maggie would be awesome. Plus, it'll keep me occupied if I'm not allowed to use my powers. Please Alex." Tess pouted, a trick she'd learnt from Kara.  
Kara crossed her arms, standing next to Alex, "I'm on Alex's side, you could come to work with me?"  
Tess rolled her eyes, "You know I love you but I'm sorry Kara your work is really boring. Maggie can give me a gun and then I won't even need to use my powers."  
"There's no way in hell I'm giving you a gun Tess." Maggie raised an eyebrow, "You're a kid."  
"Okay we'll forget the gun. But come on guys, please?" Tess looked pleadingly at Kara and Alex.  
Alex tried to remain firm but both Tess and Maggie were now given her looks that she couldn't resist, she sighed heavily, "Alright. But do not get in the way of Maggie doing her job."

Tess and Maggie high-fived, Tess' face plastered with a grin, "This is going to be great! I'll actually get to help catch these guys ruining my reputation."  
"That's the plan." Maggie smiled, coming over and giving Alex a kiss on the cheek, "I'll keep her safe babe. Don't worry."  
Alex rolled her eyes, "It's a good thing I love you both." Alex gave Maggie a kiss in return.  
"Ew get a room!" Tess groaned.  
Kara laughed, shaking her head at the two before coming over to Tess, using two fingers under Tess' chin to get her to look at herself instead, "Be careful alright."  
Tess frowned, "When am I not careful?"  
Kara raised an eyebrow, "Most of the time."  
Tess sighed, "Fine I'll be careful. I promise."  
"Good. Leave the media coverage to me. I'll do everything I can to get the public back on your side." Kara leaned forward, giving Tess a gentle kiss on the forehead, "Promise."  
Tess smiled, "Thank you Kara. You're the best."  
"Hey! What about me?" Alex piped up, grinning as she let go of Maggie.  
"You're alright I guess." Tess poked her tongue out at Alex.  
Maggie came over, putting her hands on Tess' shoulders as she looked at Alex's offended expression, "We need to get going otherwise my boss is going to be mad."  
"Tell Lillian I said hello and hope she's enjoying jail." Tess waved at Alex and Kara before letting Maggie direct her out of Alex's apartment.

"Are you sure you want to go see Lillian?"  
Alex bit her lip, looking at the floor instead of Kara, "I have to. I want to find out the solution to all this and maybe…"  
"Maybe you can find out something about Jeremiah?" Kara offered.  
Alex nodded slowly, looking up at Kara, "Yeah."  
"We'll find him. Things have been crazy but that doesn't mean we've forgotten about him." Kara came closer, pulling Alex into a tight hug.  
Alex wrapped her arms around Kara, resting her chin on Kara's shoulder, "How do you always know what I'm thinking Kara?"  
Kara squeezed Alex tighter, "Because I'm your sister. It's my job."  
Alex laughed, "I love you."  
"Love you too." Kara continued to hug Alex, "I know you're my big sister but please be careful too."  
"I will, Lillian isn't winning this time." Alex pulled away, giving Kara a grateful smile.  
Kara's eyes widened as she saw the clock, "I'm going to be late for work! I have to go. Keep in touch okay?"  
Alex barely had time to nod before Kara flew out of her apartment. She stared at the open window for a few moments before composing herself; it was time to go see Lillian.

* * *

Alex finally cleared prison security after what felt like forever, even after showing her fake FBI badge it hadn't helped rush her through security faster. It was just giving her more time to overthink everything, even now she was trying hard to keep her foot from nervously tapping as she waited for Lillian to be brought from her cell. She waited a few minutes longer before the door opened, causing her to inhale sharply as she laid her eyes on Lillian.  
"Ms Danvers. What a pleasant surprise." Lillian smiled at Alex as she was led into the room, walking over to chair opposite Alex.  
Alex stood, waiting for Lillian to sit before she slowly sat down herself, "Ms Luthor."  
"To what do I owe this visit?" Lillian glanced at the door as it was shut by the guards before looking back at Alex.  
Alex stared at Lillian, trying to contain her distaste at being in Lillian's presence, "I have a few questions to ask."  
"Well I don't have anywhere to be. What's on your mind Alex?" Lillian smirked, enjoying watching Alex squirm under her gaze  
Alex swallowed the lump in her throat, recomposing herself, "I'm sure you've seen the news."  
"Of course. There's much we can talk about from the news so forgive me if I would prefer you to be more specific."  
"You know what I'm referring too." Alex shot back.  
"Oh so I assume we're talking about Surge? Or should I say Tess?" Lillian leant back in her chair, keeping her gaze set on Alex.  
Alex nodded, "Let me be clear before we go any further. If you in any way try to threaten Tess or anyone else I love." Alex paused for effect, "I will make you beg for forgiveness with one hand still behind my back."

Lillian narrowed her eyes at Alex, "There's that Danvers fire. So much like your father."  
Alex glared at Lillian, hating how quickly Lillian was able to cut so deep with her words.  
Before Alex could develop a comeback Lillian interjected, "I know you're going to ask and the answer is no. I don't know where your father is."  
"You're lying." Alex hissed.  
"No. I did know where he was. But not anymore." Lillian shrugged.  
"You're the leader of Cadmus, how do you not know?" Alex tried to keep her anger in check.  
"Well, since I've been in here it seems someone else is making the decisions. We started the trials but we put it on hold after the first incident. They're loyal to the cause, so loyal they're going ahead without me." Lillian glanced at the camera in the corner of the room.  
Alex frowned, "What trials?"  
"We trialled gene grafts with samples from Tess. Her powers are directly linked to precise genetic modifications and enhancements. It's scientifically fascinating, a perfect combination of physical enhancements amplified by her body's ability to absorb and manipulate energy of any form. If I didn't know better I would say it was unbelievable…" Lillian was almost lost in thought, running over the tests she'd run on Tess' blood after she'd kidnapped her.

Alex snapped her fingers, "Stay on topic Luthor. What happened with the trials?"  
Lillian refocused her attention on Alex, "The first trial was a complete failure. Yielded no results and only succeeded in killing the subject."  
"And then?"  
"Failure after failure. Until finally I was approached by a new associate. He offered me technology I could only dream of, advanced human technology that doesn't exist on this earth." Lillian smirked, revisiting the memory in her mind.  
"What associate?" Alex prodded.  
"He obviously didn't give me a name dear. He simply asked for information in return and his technology helped make the trials a success, for a while at least. Until one of the trials ended up with the subject with a bullet through his skull Miss Danvers." Lillian held her hand up, inspecting her nails as she spoke.  
"What do you mean?" Alex glared at Lillian, hating the way just being around this woman was infuriating.  
"Well. Bullet. Through the skull. He died obviously. I thought your father raised you better." Lillian stopped inspecting her nails, looking up at Alex with a self-satisfied smirk.

Alex didn't give Lillian the satisfaction of any reaction, her gaze remaining cold and her lips pressed tightly together, "Never speak about my father again."  
"I'm really not sure you know the man properly anymore." Lillian continued to smirk, leaning ever so slightly closer to Alex.  
Alex slammed her fist on the table, Lillian not even flinching, "Who killed them?"  
"To be perfectly honest I don't know. I would assume the associate I was working with had something to do with it. I would also assume that all six of the trials will be dead within the next few days, if they aren't already. I feel the body count has already started to pile up. " Lillian smirked, folding her hands over each other on the table.  
Alex took in the information before standing up, "I think we're done here."  
"I thought we were just starting to get to know each other better." Lillian tutted before she pursed her lips together and studied Alex.  
"I'm sure you'd like to think so." Alex walked to the door.  
Lillian couldn't help herself, landing one last jab, "Like father like daughter. Say hi to Tess for me."  
Alex ripped the door open before slamming it closed as she left, her face burning with unshed tears.

* * *

Kara had spent the last hour at her desk, trying to get a hold on the numerous articles that were popping up every time she refreshed her screen. The video of 'Surge' was going viral and every news outlet in the city and more were covering the story. Her eyes were suddenly drawn to the stack of Catco magazines placed down in the reporter's room. They had gone into print overnight and were being sold already. The front page was covered in the same story. She abruptly stood up, grabbing a magazine and storming over to Snapper's desk, slamming it down, "These claims are entirely unsubstantiated! How are we printing this?!"  
Snapper glanced up over his glasses, "Ah Danvers. You've returned from the abyss."  
"You let someone write this? It's not even true!" Kara ignored Snapper's jab.  
"Do you have a source for that? Because that reporter had several witness statements and police reports, that's why it's on the front page Danvers."  
"But sir-" Kara tried before she was cut off.  
"Go cover the mayor's new budget cuts. Until you have proof otherwise, I'm not listening to you trying to discount someone else's story." Snapper gave Kara his signature 'shut up and walk away' look.  
Kara got the hint, huffing off as she took the magazine away, making her way to James' office.

"Why did you let this go to print?" Kara held up the magazine as she strode into James' office.  
James looked up from his desk, "Uh Kara I'm kind of in the middle of something."  
"Yeah well this is more important! Don't you realise how harmful this is?" Kara gave James a disappointed look.  
James stood up, coming round to the front of his desk and taking the magazine from Kara, "I can't play favourites here Kara. Surge is still a new vigilante and I would be a fool to not print this story just because I know better."  
"So what, if this story was about Supergirl would you still print it?" Kara looked at James in disbelief.  
"Kara you know that's not how it works. Don't put this on me." James frowned, trying not to feel too attacked.  
Kara shook her head, "She's a kid James. Supergirl can handle criticism like this. I'm not sure Tess can."  
"Well then maybe a kid shouldn't be doing Supergirl's job." James crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes at Kara.  
"And then what? Leave it to Guardian? Because he's doing such a good job." Kara threw her hands up in exasperation.  
"Guardian is doing a good job and did a lot whilst Supergirl and Surge were off doing who knows what."  
"I don't trust some random who decides he can just become a hero." Kara snapped.  
James shook his head, "Supergirl _was_ just some random."  
Kara went to reply but James received a call, she just shook her head and dropped the magazine on his desk, leaving his office.

* * *

"Maggie can we _please_ turn the sirens on?" Tess pleaded with Maggie from the passenger seat.  
"No! They're not a toy!" Maggie glared at Tess before moving her eyes back to the road.  
Tess crossed her arms, frowning as she crossed her arms and stared back at the road.  
Maggie peered at Tess out of the corner of her eye, frowning as she noticed Tess' attitude, "Are you seriously going to be grumpy the entire time if I don't let you turn them on."  
Tess just nodded, remaining silent and keeping her eyes on the road.  
Maggie rolled her eyes, "You are unbelievable."  
"And you're mean." Tess still refused to look at Maggie.  
"Wow you're such a child Tess." Maggie smirked, knowing it would provoke Tess.  
Tess shot a dirty look at Maggie, "Well I keep getting told I'm a kid so I may as well act like it!"  
Maggie shook her head stirringly, "Doesn't mean you have to be so stubborn."  
"I am not stubborn!" Tess growled.  
"Just impulsive and rude?"  
Tess' jaw went slack, her mouth hanging open, "Take that back!"  
Maggie smiled, "I'm kidding Tess. Well…not completely but I don't mean it badly. Alex can be just as impulsive as you."  
Tess slowly closed her mouth, her eyes narrowing as she scrutinised Maggie.  
The duo were interrupted by the police radio crackling to life, requesting Maggie's attendance at a mugging.  
Tess' eyes widened as she looked at the radio and then Maggie, "Does that mean we get to turn the sirens on now?"  
Maggie sighed, picking up the radio, "Copy that. On my way, over." Maggie winked at Tess, "Hit it."  
Tess grinned excitedly, cheering as she turned on the sirens and Maggie started to weave past traffic.

Maggie pulled up at the scene, her eyes widening as she saw two men fighting in an alley. One of them had his hand around the other's throat, a glow of energy connecting them as the man being choked looked like he was being drained of life.  
"Shit it's one of them! He's going to kill him!" Tess burst out of the car.  
Maggie did also, drawing her gun at the attacker, "Put him down! Tess do not move!"  
Tess looked hopelessly at Maggie, her muscles tightly coiled as she tried to stop herself from springing into action.  
The attacker looked at them both before a sudden burst of energy occurred as he fully drained the victim he held, throwing the shrivelled body to the ground. A few seconds passed before the attacker fled into the alleyway, Maggie cursing as she fired her gun.  
Tess made a split second decision before giving chase, sprinting after the attacker and blowing past Maggie.  
"Tess! Stop!" Maggie cursed again before lowering her gun and giving chase.  
Tess was running as fast as her legs could carry her, keeping her breathing steady as she powered down the alley. She preferred flying but Alex said no powers, so in this case she thought physical enhancement didn't count. She wasn't using her powers at all, but she couldn't help but smirked as Maggie lagged behind, nowhere close to keeping up. She was getting close to the attacker now. He was trying to push things over in her path but she was effortlessly avoiding them as she made up further ground on the attacker.  
She was almost about to make contact, her fingers just about brushing on the back of his shirt before a shot rang out.

Tess stopped in her tracks; unable to process the bullet that had tore through the skull of the man in front of her. She could hear Maggie yelling from several metres away before she felt herself being tackled to the ground as another shot rang out. Tess gasped as she hit the ground, coming face to face with the Guardian. Her eyes narrowed until she realised the look of pain in his eyes as he rolled off of her, groaning as he hit the ground. She got to her knees, noticing the bullet that had pierced through his shoulder. Her attention was quickly moved to Supergirl, seeing Kara land on the rooftop of the sniper.  
Guardian grunted in pain as he shuffled up onto his elbows.  
"You're hurt idiot don't move." Tess helped Guardian sit up, supporting his injured arm.  
Maggie had run over by this stage, quickly crouching down next to Tess, putting her hand on Tess' shoulder, "Are you okay Tess?"  
Tess nodded, frowning as she studied Guardian's wound, "I'm fine, but he's not. He needs to go to the hospital."  
"No hospital. Take me to the DEO."  
"Wait what? Who are you?" Tess reached for his helmet, waiting for a nod before she removed it, "James?!"

"Maggie I've got your killer here."  
Maggie turned from James, standing up and seeing Kara holding an unconscious man up by the back of his collar. Maggie reached for her radio, calling for police backup, "Thanks Supergirl."  
Kara looked behind Maggie, her eyes widening as she noticed James in his Guardian attire, "James?! What the hell?!" Kara dropped the man she was holding, coming over to kneel opposite Tess, "You're Guardian?!"  
"What gave it away?" James winced as she tried to sit up straighter.  
"You got shot too!" Kara couldn't believe her eyes right now.  
"Kara you need to take him to the DEO, other cops are going to be here any minute." Maggie was putting the unconscious man in cuffs as she spoke.  
Kara sighed, pulling James' uninjured arm around her shoulder, "Come on Tess."  
"But Alex said I couldn't use my powers…" Tess frowned, unsure if Kara had forgotten or was giving her permission.  
"I'll ignore that so you can fly back with me to the DEO."  
Tess nodded, changing to her suit before standing up with Kara and checking on Maggie, "Are you alright?"  
Maggie nodded, her face set in a grim expression as she looked at the now dead attacker, "Go. I'll meet you at the DEO later."  
Tess took one last glance at the body before flying after Kara.

* * *

Alex and Winn greeted them at the DEO, Alex leading James to the infirmary so she could stitch him up.  
"I can't believe you're Guardian, James! And you didn't even tell me!" Kara was pacing the room angrily.  
"We were going to tell you at thanksgiving but Alex told us not too." Winn offered.  
Kara spun on her heels, stopping her pacing, "What?! You knew about this Winn? And you Alex? You didn't tell me!?"  
"I told them to quit, I guess they didn't." Alex kept her focus on her stitches in James' shoulder.  
"Winn?" Kara looked at him for an explanation.  
"Hey! James told me to keep it a secret, just like you asked me to keep yours I did what he asked! You can't have a go at me for doing exactly what you ask me to do as well." Winn held his hands up defensively.  
"How stupid are you James? You could have died today! Hell you could have died any other time you've gone out and tried to play a hero! What the hell are you thinking? Are you even thinking!" Kara glared at James.

"Kara I can do what I want. Just because you're Supergirl doesn't mean you get to boss me around and tell me what to do with my life! I know what I'm doing out there, I know it's dangerous I'm not an idiot! I mean come on you'd rather let a kid fight crime than me?" James gestured towards Tess as he glared back at Kara.  
Tess snapped, storming towards James, "Hey! I didn't ask you to take a bullet for me! I actually have powers James! Even if I did get shot I would already have healed! Don't put this on me!"  
Alex held up a finger, stopping Tess in her tracks, "Tess don't."  
"She has a point James! She has powers, you don't. That's the difference here!" Kara continued to pace the room, frustrated that James was equating the two.

"What doesn't make sense is how I got shot. I thought this suit was bulletproof Winn?" James narrowed his eyes at Winn.  
"It is. I don't know what happened! I've never seen a bullet like this." Winn countered.  
Tess snatched Winn's tablet from his hand, looking down at the analysis Winn had run on the bullet, "This is from my earth. The sniper must have been the man I thought was tracking me from my earth."  
"You had someone tracking you from your earth?" Kara's voice was slightly elevated as she looked at Tess and Alex confused.  
"I thought so; it must have been this guy. How did you even know about these guys?" Tess asked Winn.  
"Winn held his hand up briefly, "James and I have been tracking these guys…"  
"You what?" Alex's eyes widened, "You didn't you should share that info with the DEO?"  
"I thought you would figure it out. They have a specific energy signature, it's very traceable." Winn trailed off as he met eyes with Tess.  
"Wait…you can just track me because I exist?!" Tess' jaw dropped as she stared at Winn.

"Well…yeah." Winn grimaced as he looked between Tess, Alex and Kara.  
Tess smiled sadly at Winn, "I guess that's pretty cool. But I can't deal with this right now." Tess turned and walked quickly out of the room.  
Alex went to follow after her, being stopped by Kara's hand on her arm.  
"I'll do it. I need some time to process all of this anyway." Kara looked back at James and Winn, "You guys are not off the hook."  
James just sighed, looking at Winn before looking down at his lap and remaining silent.  
"She's really mad isn't she?" Winn asked Alex, crinkles forming in the corner of his eyes.  
Alex nodded, "You better make this up to Kara. And Tess for that matter."  
"I stopped her getting shot." James muttered.  
"Tess can look after herself. You on the other hand…you're going to be out of action for weeks." Alex pointed out, taking a little too much pleasure in letting James know he wasn't invincible.

Kara found Tess in Alex's lab, fiddling idly with one of the tablets with her back to Kara on a chair. She came forward, gently putting a hand on Tess' back, feeling her jump under her hand.  
Tess turned on the chair and looked up at Kara, taking a deep breath as she put the tablet down, "Hey…"  
"Sorry did I scare you?" Kara looked apologetic as she pulled her hand away.  
Tess shook her head, "No. I mean kind of but it's fine. You didn't have to come after me I'm okay."  
Kara looked around, pulling another chair next to Tess, "I wanted to. I needed a break from those two anyway. Plus I thought maybe you wanted to talk about what happened."  
Tess raised an eyebrow curiously, "Today or yesterday?"  
"Either. Both. Whatever you need. I mean…you saw a guy get killed in front of you."  
The earnest in Kara's voice almost brought Tess to tears, but today she was determined not to cry, "Thanks Kara. I'm fine. I really am, it's not the first time I've seen that." Tess stiffened slightly at the memory, but continued, "If anything I think everything has made me realise something."  
Kara kept quiet, encouraging Tess to continue.

"I think you and Alex need some time to yourselves. Together, without me."  
Kara frowned, shaking her head, "Tess what makes you say that?"  
"Just hear me out. You guys have barely had any time to yourselves since I got here. After everything that's been happening and everything you've done for me I think I've realised just how important family is."  
Kara interrupted, "Tess you're part of this family now-"  
Tess cut off Kara this time instead, "I know that. You and Alex have been incredible and I do really feel like a part of the family. But that doesn't mean that I have to take up every second of your day. I'm always with either one of you and I'm old enough that I can take care of myself for a few hours. You shouldn't always have to be putting up with me and all the shit that comes with me. I'm just saying you should have one sister night without me. You helped Maggie catch the guy that was following me from my earth and the Cadmus impersonator is dead. You can afford one night for yourselves."  
Kara slowly smiled, "Tess you can be included you know."  
"I know. But you guys deserve this, so promise me you'll do it." Tess stared at Kara, blue eyes meeting more blue.  
Kara paused, taking in the wordless expression Tess was giving her, "I promise."

* * *

Late in the afternoon Kara finally came back from work, finding Tess, Alex and Maggie sitting on her couches waiting for her in her apartment. Kara put her bag down, walking up to the trio, "What brings you all here?"  
Maggie smiled at Kara, "I just wanted to fill you all in at once on everything going on."  
Kara kicked off her shoes, coming and sitting down on the spare seat next to Tess, "Alright shoot."  
"So, it turns out there were six Cadmus impersonators hunting down ex-Cadmus members." Maggie started.  
"That's what Lillian said to me. Six trials." Alex put her hand on Maggie's knee, giving it a small squeeze.  
"Which works out, and this guy that killed the impersonator from today gave us information, which lead us to the other five bodies. He'd already killed all of them, same way every time, bullet to the head." Maggie continued.  
"So it's over? All the impersonators are dead and the guy from my earth is in custody?" Tess asked, unconsciously moving closer to Kara for reassurance.  
Maggie nodded, "He just admitted everything straight up. It was really odd…I mean everyone else thought he was crazy because he was saying he was from another earth but, well," Maggie motioned to Tess, "you exist."  
Tess almost snorted, feeling like Maggie's words meant more than she meant, she definitely did exist, it felt like all she did was just exist, "Right."  
Alex and Kara shared a look, both of them frowning a little concerned at Tess' sudden attitude shift. Kara casually put her arm around Tess' waist, pulling her ever so slightly closer, "But it's over."

Tess closed her eyes before turning and pushing her face into Kara's shoulder for a moment. She took a deep breath before pulling away, "So you guys get a Danvers sister night."  
"Tess it doesn't have to be tonight." Kara spoke softly, glancing at Alex, they hadn't spoken about this yet.  
Tess shook her head, tearing herself away from Kara and standing up, "Nope you're having it tonight. You promised me Kara."  
Alex leant forward in her chair, "Tess I don't think you should be by yourself tonight."  
Tess winced as she looked at Alex, almost feeling hurt by the comment but realising it was only said in love. She glanced at Maggie before looking back to Alex, "Maybe Maggie and I can hang out tonight?"  
Maggie sighed, "I'm sorry kid I have to finish up this case. This is my break and then I'm heading back to the station."

Tess let out the smallest of groan's, her face scrunching up for a second, "Can't I just hang out at your apartment by myself Alex?"  
Alex shook her head, "Not tonight. We can do it another night."  
Kara cleared her throat, "Unless someone else can watch you?"  
Tess shifted to look at Kara, "Who?"  
Kara pulled out her phone, pulling up the last contact she'd been texting, "Lena?"  
Tess rolled her eyes, "Like Lena would say yes."  
Kara had already sent a message, her phone buzzing just a few seconds later, "Well she just did."  
Tess was caught off guard, "Wait what?"  
"Kara I don't think this is a good idea." Alex started to argue before she felt Maggie squeeze her hand.  
"I think it's exactly what you all need babe." Maggie whispered.  
Alex sighed, squeezing Maggie's hand in return, "Are you sure Tess? I won't say no to a sister night but only if you're sure?"  
Tess nodded, smiling at Alex, "I'm sure. Like Maggie said, you need it."  
Alex smiled back at Tess, "Alright. Let's order some pizza first though."

* * *

Lena looked up from her tablet as a knock sounded at her door, she sucked in a breath. It had to be Kara and Tess. She placed her tablet on the coffee table, gracefully moving from the couch to the door. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear she smiled as she opened the door, coming face to face with Kara's beaming smile, "Just who I was expecting!"  
Kara grinned, taking in the sight of Lena barefoot in a pair of jeans and a National City university sweater before Lena in a hug, "Thank you so much for saying yes."  
Lena melted into the hug, closing her eyes briefly before she opened them, looking at Tess over Kara's shoulder, "Of course."  
Tess stood awkwardly, waiting for the two to break apart, "Hey Lena."  
Lena reluctantly pulled away from Kara before pulling Tess into a quick hug, "Nice to see you again."  
Kara had walked a few steps into Lena's apartment, she had never set foot inside beforehand and it felt strange that she would be leaving almost as soon as she arrived.  
Lena came and stood next to Kara, gazing around her apartment, it very much fulfilled the modern minimalist theme, with pearl white tiles covered by a black rug, gloss black coffee table and a giant black sofa, for all the entertaining Lena never did in her apartment. The walls matched the room colours, a large TV covering one wall and the other holding an inbuilt electric fireplace. The kitchen was much the same with black bar stools on one side of the white granite island bench. Near the kitchen was an extensive balcony and further into the apartment a hallway led down to various rooms.  
Tess came up next to Kara, her eyes flickering across everything, taking it all in. It was so damn big, she'd thought Kara and Alex had large apartments but it was nothing compared to Lena's.

Kara was the first to clear her throat as she adjusted her glasses nervously, "I guess I should get back to Alex. I don't want to leave Tess with you all night."  
Lena straightened up, smiling softly at Kara, "I have a spare room if it comes to that." Lena looked over at Tess, "You're welcome to stay the night."  
Kara shook her head, "I promise we'll be done before it's too late."  
"You have to have a proper sister night Kara." Tess pushed, "You promised."  
Kara held her hands up in defeat, "Alright I can take a hint when I'm not wanted."  
Lena laughed, "I wouldn't say that. But I think Tess is right, go have a sister night. We'll be fine."  
"Thanks again for this Lena. It means a lot." Kara moved towards the door before giving Lena one last hug and giving Tess a pointed look, "Behave."  
Tess rolled her eyes before giving Kara a tight hug, "I'm always well behaved."  
Kara gave Tess a quick kiss on the forehead and then opened the door, "I'll see you both later."

As soon as Kara left Tess suddenly felt tense. It wasn't like she hadn't been with Lena alone before. But a lot had happened since then, and the way Lena watched her curiously was almost a little off putting when she was by herself in Lena's apartment. Tess felt her phone buzz, welcoming the distraction as she quickly pulled her phone from her jean pockets, "Kara already can't leave me alone…"  
Lena chuckled, "What does she want so soon?"  
Tess couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips as she saw the title of the article Kara had just linked her to – ' _New vigilante Surge cleared of murder accusations'_ – "It's just some good news."  
Lena ever so slightly raised an eyebrow before shaking her head, "Do you want a drink?"  
Tess nodded quickly, suddenly feeling more awkward than she'd ever felt in her life, "Please."

* * *

Kara dropped onto the couch with Alex, sighing as she put her feet up, covering them both in a blanket, "Tess is right, we haven't done this for ages."  
Alex nodded in agreement, grabbing a handful of popcorn from the bowl sitting in her lap, "I know right. I didn't realise I was missing it so much."  
Kara paused, grabbing her own handful of popcorn, "Does that make us bad people?"  
Alex frowned in confusion looking at Kara, "For what?"  
"You know. Not wanting Tess around." Kara looked regretful as she nibbled on the popcorn.  
"Of course not. This was her suggestion. We're allowed to spend time apart. She's like our little sister and no little sister I've ever met always wants to be around their big sisters." Alex readjusted the blanket on her legs, shuffling herself closer to Kara.  
"I don't know. I kind of love spending a lot of my time with you. You're my big sister." Kara's forehead crinkled ever so slightly as she kept her gaze on Alex.  
Alex sighed, "Our relationship is different. Plus we're not teenagers anymore, we both needed space from each other occasionally when we were teenagers."  
"Why are you always right?" Kara groaned at Alex as she rested her head on Alex's shoulder.  
Alex gave Kara a kiss on the head, "Because your big sister is always right."  
Kara rolled her eyes, but smiled as grabbed some more popcorn and pressed play on _The Wizard of Oz_.

* * *

For the most part Tess and Lena had been sitting in silence, Lena was writing emails on her tablet as Tess played on her phone at the other end of the couch. Eventually Lena's gaze drifted to Tess, noting how her shirt had ridden up ever so slightly, revealing one of Tess' numerous scars. The one Lena was unconsciously staring at curled around from her hip to the front of her stomach, dragging around before it drifted down under the waistband of her jeans. Lena bit her lip attempting to stop herself from saying anything but she knew sooner or later she wouldn't be able to help herself.  
Tess could feel Lena's eyes on her, she looked up from her phone, glancing across at Lena, noticing her eyes weren't exactly looking where Tess expected. She glanced down at herself, only now noticing the cold air that was hitting her exposed skin. She all but wrenched her shirt down, refusing to look at Lena as she readjusted herself. But still she felt Lena's eyes staring, eventually she dragged her eyes up to meet Lena', noting the question about to roll off Lena's lips.

"Why do you have so many scars Tess?" Lena felt the question tumble out before she could stop herself.  
Tess remained silent, her lips pursed tightly together, "I don't have that many…"  
"They're all over your stomach Tess. I've seen you with your shirt off." Lena pushed.  
Tess frowned, "When have you seen me-" Tess suddenly remembered how she'd woken up in Kara's apartment after Lillian had kidnapped her in just her underwear. Her face burned with embarrassment but also anger, she felt Lena inch closer but she moved back. "Look Lena I appreciate you letting me stay here for the night but that doesn't mean you get to know everything about me all of a sudden."  
Lena's eyes narrowed, "Tess I'm just wanting to understand. I just want to help."  
Tess glared at Lena, " _Help?_ What the hell do you think I need help with?"  
"I don't know! Because I barely know anything about you Tess! I've know you for months now and I don't have a clue what you do in all your spare time!" Lena countered, even though it was a lie, of course she knew what Tess was up to.

"That's why you're Kara's best friend and not mine!" Tess threw back, anger readily apparent in her voice.  
"Well I don't know if you have any other friends because you've never said a word about anyone other than Kara and Alex…" Lena crossed her arms, keeping her gaze firm.  
Tess tried to keep her breathing steady as she tried to come up with an excuse, of course Lena was right as always, "That's because my friends don't live in National City."  
"Look Tess you remind me of myself. You have so many walls and boxes of internalised emotions and I just want to know why! My childhood sucked but I'm not covered in scars like you. I just want to know." Lena hated how she almost sounded needy, like she was begging for Tess to be honest.  
Tess got up off the couch, moving herself away from Lena, "My childhood is _none_ of your business. Just like my scars are _none_ of your business. I mean is that the only reason you said yes to Kara to do this? Because you wanted to interrogate me? "  
Lena shook her head, getting up off the couch to stand in front of Tess, "No that's not why…"  
"Then why. Why would a _billionaire_ CEO want to spend time with me? Are we friends Lena? Or is it just because of Kara?" Tess was breathing heavily as she scrutinised Lena.  
"I just want us to be honest with each other Tess." Lena held out her hand, "Let me show you something please?"  
Tess frowned, "You wanted to show me something?"  
Lena nodded, her hand still outstretched, "Please just trust me."

Tess let out a small gasp as she entered the room, looking at the floor to ceiling bookshelves, "You have a library in your apartment?" Tess stepped forward, running a finger down the spine of book.  
"I think the room speaks for itself." Lena stepped inside, watching Tess intently.  
Tess slowly paced the room, taking in the shelves and books, along with the little reading nook in the corner of the room. "It's so much information, so much history…it's like a secret room of knowledge."  
"Well I'm not sure you'd consider _The Great Gatsby_ knowledge but it is a classic." Lena raised an eyebrow at Tess, noting the lack of reaction to the name.  
"I haven't heard of that one before." Tess shrugged, not understanding the significance, books weren't exactly commonplace on her earth, "I didn't know you read so much."  
"Well I don't exactly try and keep it a secret, but I guess no one knows this room exists. Except for you and me." Lena studied Tess, staring into her blue eyes.  
Tess slowly tore her gaze away, "Everyone has something they want to keep secret. I don't know how this is supposed to make up for you trying to interrogate me."

Lena bit the inside of her cheek, glancing at the shelves, "I hate secrets. I don't like being kept out of the loop."  
Tess frowned, but didn't look at Lena as she spoke, "Why? Secrets are important sometimes."  
"I don't think anything is too important to keep from the people you love and care for."  
Tess paused, her eyes drawn back to Lena, narrowing her eyes ever so slightly as she took in the dark expression behind Lena's eyes, "Some secrets are kept to protect those people, Lena. Or to stop the person themselves getting hurt all over again."  
"But if they meant enough to you shouldn't you just be honest." Lena pursed her lips together tightly, her face hardening.  
Tess straightened up, her hands dropping to her sides, "Are you trying to imply something Lena or are you being hypothetical?"  
Lena kept her gaze firmly set on Tess, "I don't know. You tell me Tess."  
Lena could see the gears turning behind Tess' eyes, the inner argument burning inside. But Lena saw the final piece click into place and she knew she wasn't going to get the answer she wanted.  
"I've got no secrets worth knowing, Lena. Not about my childhood and not about anything else." Tess finally answered.  
Lena just shook her head, "I thought as much." She turned and walked back out of the room, "Turn the light off when you're done... _Surge._ "

* * *

Maggie groaned as she looked over the case report they'd done on the killer from Tess' earth. Something was just off and she didn't know what. Finally she caved, dragging herself back to the man they had in custody. Making sure no one else was around she switched off the security cameras and microphones. She opened the door to the interview room, waiting for him to look at her before she came and sat opposite him. There was a brief silence before she spoke up, "Are you the only one?"  
"The only what?" He tilted his head curiously at her.  
"The only one from your earth." Maggie spoke evenly, her tone holding an underlying threat.  
The man slowly shook his head, "No. There are more."  
"What are they here for then?" Maggie frowned, "Surely it's not just because of Cadmus."  
He just chuckled, shaking his head again, "No it's not just them. We're here for revenge."  
"Revenge for what?" Maggie kept her expression neutral as she stared down the man.  
"For our earth. One of the killers is here. She'll get what she deserves soon enough. If they haven't found her already." He smirked, keeping his gaze on Maggie.  
"What do you mean?" Maggie suddenly felt her heart pounding in her chest, Alex had told her the stories about Tess.  
"I shot that other vigilante but I still got a tracker on her. They'll know where she is, and then she'll suffer."  
Maggie couldn't help the horror that slipped into her expression, "Suffer?"  
"She'll wish she died back home."  
Maggie barely let him finish before she sprinted from the room, calling Alex quickly as she could.

* * *

Tess' stomach was twisting itself in knots. Lena knew. There was no mistaking that anymore. She wanted to call Kara and Alex but she also wanted them to finally have a night to themselves without her interrupting. She leant against the bookshelf, trying to regain her composure before she heard a glass shatter outside. Her head shot up to the doorway, "Lena? Everything okay?" She waited for an answer, hearing nothing in response before she anxiously stepped outside the room, walking back to the kitchen. She stepped round the corner, unable to react before she heard a gunshot and felt a red hot pain shoot through her stomach. She looked down, frowning at the dark patch of blood spreading across her stomach until it slowed and stopped. She looked up finally, coming face to face with a group of six figures. They all stood covered in black, high-tech tactical gear, masks covering their face and all of them armed to the teeth with high-powered semi-automatic rifles. One of them had his hand firmly covering Lena's mouth as she was held tightly in place with a gun pressed against her temple by a second. Tess was frozen in place, the pain in her stomach slowly ebbing away as her powers healed her. She could see the complete fear in Lena's eyes but also the shock. Finally Tess managed to speak up as she held up her hands, "Maybe we can just put the guns down and talk? I mean you've already shot first…"

One of the figures lowered his rifle slightly, moving forward and removing his mask, smiling at Tess, "It's been too long Tess."  
Tess felt her heart all but stop in her chest, "No…"  
The man just smiled, "Did you think I was dead?"  
Tess shook her head, unconsciously stepping backwards, "No you can't be here. You can't."  
"I thought I taught you to hold your ground Tess? What's the matter?" The man sneered, looking her up and down.  
Tess straightened herself, balling her hands up into fists, feeling energy surge into her hands as they started to glow with power, "Let her go."  
The man rolled his eyes and motioned with his fingers slightly, the two figures holding Lena tightened their grip and cocked their rifles.  
All too late Tess realised just how close the man had gotten and she fired a blast at him. He sidestepped at the last second, meaning Tess shattered a light fixture instead before she was struck across the face. She tried to shove the man away but instead felt a heavily booted foot come crashing down directly onto her kneecap. Tess fell to the ground, shouting out in surprise and pain and seeing the patch of blood she'd left on Lena's tiles as she tried to materialise her suit for some sort of protection. All of a sudden she felt like she was drained of all her energy, gasping as she realised it was like when she'd been captured by Cadmus all over again as her suit failed to appear. She didn't have time to think before she was kicked in the face, sending her flat onto her back with her nose streaming blood. She was too shocked to fight back and the man was faster than she ever remembered.

Lena finally managed to break away from the two men restraining her, finally able to yell out, "Stop! You're hurting her!"  
The man attacking Tess planted his boot firmly on Tess' chest before looking back at Lena as she was restrained again, "What was that Miss Luthor?"  
This time Lena had her mouth free even if her hands were pinned painfully behind her back, "You're hurting her! Stop please! I can pay you whatever you want!"  
The man shook his head, "We're not here for money. We want revenge."  
Tess squirmed on the ground, trying to push off the foot that was crushing her chest until she felt a red hot pain fire through her thigh like it had done through her stomach just a few moments earlier. She screamed out in agony, the tiniest amounts of her powers left doing nothing to dull the pain. Looking down she gasped at the incredible amount of blood pouring from her leg.  
The man knelt down, "That's your femoral artery there. I just nicked the side. You should have just enough power left to fix the hole. But you're still going to bleed a lot. Who knows, maybe you'll pass out? Either way. You're coming with us."

Tess reached down, trying to put pressure on her leg to help ebb the flow but her hands were already shaking. All she could focus on was the rapidly expanding pool of blood she was causing on Lena's floor. She could hear Lena vaguely screaming in the background, but already things were going fuzzy. She felt herself being wrenched up under her arms, no care being taken.  
Lena was in complete shock; all she could see was blood everywhere, "She's going to bleed out! She needs help stop!"  
Tess managed to make eye contact with Lena, watching as Lena was roughly dragged towards her, "I'm sorry Lena." Tess choked out before she saw the world go black.  
Lena watched in horror as Tess was roughly slung over the man's shoulder, her leg still bleeding profusely, "She's going to bleed out!"  
The man shook his head, "No she won't." He motioned to the rest of the men, "Time to leave. Bring her with us."  
Lena didn't have a chance to register the words before she felt a sharp pain on the back of her head and her world went black too.

* * *

Alex frowned as her phone started to ring, right in the middle of the movie. She felt Kara's glare, "I thought it was on silent. I'm sorry." Alex looked down at the screen about to hang up when she saw it was Maggie, "Kara can we pause for a sec. It's Maggie."  
Kara whined and reluctantly paused the movie, crossing her arms over her chest, "She knew we were having a sister night."  
Alex ignored Kara, answering the phone, "Hey babe what's up?"  
"The sniper wasn't alone!" Maggie shouted through the phone.  
Alex frowned, holding her phone away from her ear, "What? What do you mean?"  
"There's more of them. You need to get Tess now!"  
Alex shook her head even though she knew Maggie couldn't see, "I'm not following, what's going on Maggie?"  
"They're tracking her! They want revenge and they're going after her! She's not safe you need to get her now!" Maggie continued to yell.  
"Shit." Alex hung up, "Kara we need to get to Tess now!"  
Kara didn't even say a word before Alex felt herself being flown through the sky at super-speed.

Kara barged into Lena's apartment from the balcony, Alex immediately behind her, "Tess! Lena!" Kara yelled, panic setting in as she scanned the apartment with her X-ray vision. The lights were off and no one appeared to be home. She quickly sped over to the light switch so that Alex wouldn't trip on anything, hearing Alex gasp as the lights came on.  
Alex stopped in her tracks, staring down at the floor. The perfect tiles now covered in a dark pool of blood, "Kara."  
Kara came over to Alex, her breath catching in her throat, "No. No this can't be happening."  
Alex tried to remain calm, "We're overthinking it, maybe it's not from Tess or Lena. Maybe there was just a fight and they're safe."  
Kara started to tremble, "This is all my fault. She insisted we have a sister night and I said yes and I wasn't there to protect her. And now I got Lena involved in this too. This is all my fault Alex."  
Alex grabbed Kara's shoulder, trying to ground her, "Kara this is not your fault. Come on we can't freak out. We need to get in touch with the DEO."  
Kara bit her lip as hard as she could to stop it from trembling as she fiercely held back tears, "But they're both gone Alex. I love them both and they're gone."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you made it through the chapter! I wasn't lying when things were going to get dark so I hope you don't all hate me! This is just the tip of the angst iceberg! If you wanna come yell at me, come do it on tumblr - @onceuponasuperfanfic


	12. Chapter 12 - Destruction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author Note: So I thought I'd try not to keep you waiting too long after that cliffhanger (plus I start my full-time job Monday so I'm trying to pump out as many chapters as possible before that starts). But be warned this chapter is just angst central and also quite confronting so be warned!
> 
> Content Warning: Strong coarse language, references of child abuse, minor character deaths

Lena was the first to wake up, her eyes quickly opening to find herself in a dark concrete room, the only light coming from a dim light bulb flickering in the centre of the room. She tried to get up but quickly realised her hands were chained to the wall, she had a few feet of leeway but she was still unable to move around much. Her head was pounding and the back of her head felt sticky, her hair stuck to her neck in places. As her eyes finally adjusted to the dim light she inhaled sharply as she noticed Tess. Unlike herself, Tess was chained to the ceiling, hanging by her wrists lopsided. Lena felt it was sloppy work until she realised the only foot Tess could stand on properly was her injured leg. She winced at the purposeful choice, knowing that it was only like that to inflict pain. "Tess?" Lena's voice was hoarse as she spoke, she needed a drink, who knows how long they'd been down here. She waited for a reply but didn't hear or see Tess move. Her attention was suddenly diverted to the door, hearing the screech of metal on concrete as the door swung open.  
The man who had shot Tess stepped inside, grinning at her, "Hey there beautiful."  
Lena glared at him, "What the hell do you want?" Lena wanted to sound strong but it came out a lot weaker than she intended.  
He shrugged, walking over to Tess, "Just making sure she hasn't given up on us already." The man grabbed Tess' jaw with one hand, pulling her head up before pulling a stun gun from a holster on his leg.  
Tess stirred slightly, her face twisting in her semi-conscious state, it was only for a moment before the man drove the stun gun into her stomach jolting her awake. Tess gasped, her shoulders heaving with the effort as she felt the strain on her shoulders, muffling a cry as the pain in her leg brought her into reality.

"Quite a handy trick." The man noted before firing the stun gun again, he glanced down at her leg, putting away the stun gun away and pulling out a small knife from another holster.  
Tess' eyes widened, she couldn't catch her breath to say anything yet, even though the stun gun had actually given her a small recharge she already felt all the energy being diverted through her body to the wound on her leg.  
The man knelt down in front of her, swiftly dragging the knife through her jeans, slicing from the hole created by the bullet to create a large hole. He tutted, noting the edges of Tess' wound creeping together, "Now that wasn't what I wanted."  
Tess finally found her voice again, glaring down at him, "Then what the _fuck_ ," Tess paused to catch her breath again, "do you want Marcus?"  
Marcus paused, digging the small knife into the wound before it finished closing over then standing back up, "I'll come back later when you've calmed down."  
Tess bit down on her lip so hard it started to bleed, desperately trying to stop herself from giving Marcus the satisfaction of making her cry.  
Marcus just smirked, leaving his knife embedded in her leg before walking out, locking the door behind him.

Tess took a deep shuddering breath, looking down at the knife in her leg as she tried to ignore the pain. It was then that she realised Lena was in the room with her, her eyes widening in shock but the memory came back to her, "Lena?"  
Lena was looking at her confused, "You know him?"  
Tess tried to ignore the question, trying to relieve the pressure on her leg and shoulders, but either way she either increased the strain on her leg or her shoulders, she couldn't get relief either way, "Lena are you okay?"  
Lena watched as Tess tried to readjust and failed, sending a pained look through her face, "I'm fine. But you're not."  
Tess gave up, hanging her head as she stared at the floor, a pained laugh escaping her lips, "I don't think either of us are fine."  
Lena stretched forward, trying to get as close to Tess as she could but there was still space between them at the end of her chains, "I didn't get shot twice, nor do I have a knife sticking into my thigh."  
Tess dragged her eyes back up to look at Lena, able to see her more clearly now that she was closer, "They hurt you too though."  
Lena was now starting to feel just how sore her body felt, but she brushed it off, "What the hell is going on Tess?"  
"I don't know."  
"That's bullshit Tess. You're going to stop lying to me right now." Lena snapped.  
Tess shook her head, "I don't know what this is about. I don't know how-"  
"Are you an alien?" Lena interrupted, gazing up at Tess curiously.  
"No." Tess paused, looking at the floor again, "What do you want to know?"  
"Everything." Lena answered quickly.  
Tess slowly nodded, "I owe you that much."

Tess tried to wet her lips so that she could speak easier, wincing as she ran over the self-inflicted split in her lip she had done earlier, "I'm not from this earth." Tess heard Lena suck in a breath, "There's this thing called the multiverse. Multiple universes and multiple earths. This is Earth-38. I'm from Earth-52."  
Lena's face was contorted in deep thought, trying to take in the information, "What makes them different?"  
"They're all different. For example Earth-1 and Earth-38 are similar to each other, but people like Supergirl don't exist there and their heroes don't exist here. You might not exist on Earth-1." Tess tried to explain.  
"What is your earth like?" Lena asked tentatively, she almost wasn't sure she wanted to know.  
Tess closed her eyes, memories flooding back to her, "It _was_ royally fucked up."  
Lena's eyes widened, "Was?"  
"It's gone. It was destroyed. I…I helped destroy it." Tess avoided Lena's staring, "Marcus is from my earth. I don't know how they survived, I mean I did but they don't have my powers."  
"So not everyone on your earth has powers like you?"  
"No. It's hard to explain…our powers are genetically coded into us when we're just cells, along with other enhancements. There's varying powers." Tess tried to explain, but her head was starting to pound.  
"That's why my mother kidnapped you. She wanted to study you…" Lena finally placed the pieces together, turning her eyes to the cuffs around her wrists.  
"Something like that…" Tess started to close her eyes, "I…I need a minute."  
Lena looked back up at Tess, suddenly noticing how pale she had gotten, "Tess?"  
Tess opened her eyes, noting the deep concern lacing Lena's voice, she gave her one last look before shaking her head and closing her eyes again, "I just…just a minute."

* * *

Kara scanned the city over and over, each time getting more and more frustrated. Hoping that against all odds that Tess or Lena would call and say they were safe. She just wanted to know they were safe. After all the blood in Lena's apartment she just needed to know, to know that they were both safe. Eventually she soared up high into the clouds, high above where any aircraft would be flying. That was when the tears started to come, hard and fast and more than ever. She felt like she'd lost them both already. Like they were never coming home. She'd never be able to hug them again. She'd never hear an 'I love you' from Tess again. She'd never get to say an 'I love you' to Lena. And it was all her fault.

Eventually she flew back to the DEO, being greeted with an exhausted looking Alex and a solemn Winn and J'onn. "Please tell me you've found something." Kara pleaded with them.  
Winn gave the tiniest shake of his head, "My program hasn't found anything yet."  
Kara looked at Alex, hoping that she would have some good news instead, "Anything?"  
Alex shook her head also, "No. Maggie's interrogating the killer from Tess' earth but so far nothing."  
Kara felt her hands starting to shake as she tightly clasped them together, "We have to find something."  
"We will Kara. I think it's best if you and Alex get some rest, we need you both and we can't do this if you're too exhausted to help." J'onn crossed his arms, looking at Kara and Alex.  
Kara recoiled in shock, "I am not resting until I know for a fact they are safe."

Alex gently touched Kara's arm, "Kara I think J'onn is right. We're no use to Tess or Lena if we can barely keep our eyes open."  
Kara pulled away from Alex, "No we can't just leave them. What if they're already dead?"  
"Kara they're not dead." J'onn pushed.  
"How do we know that! You didn't see how much blood there was!" Kara shouted, her eyes burning with tears again.  
J'onn's expression softened, "We don't. But we have to believe that they're still alive okay?"  
Kara bit her lip, shaking her head before she brushed past them all, walking away as fast as she could without running.

Alex chased after Kara, following the flash of Kara's cape flowing around corners. "Kara! Stop!"  
Kara kept walking, she didn't even know where she was going, she could hardly even see with the tears in her eyes.  
Eventually Alex gave up on waiting for Kara to stop, instead sprinting after Kara and grabbing her from behind, "Kara please!"  
Kara spun around, collapsing into Alex and dissolving into uncontrollable sobs, "This is all my fault!"  
Alex wrapped her arms tightly around Kara as they both slid to the floor in the DEO corridor, "It's not your fault Kara." Alex couldn't help herself as she started to cry too.  
"How is it not my fault? I agreed to it! I asked Lena! It's all my fault!" Kara could barely speak between her sobbing as she buried her face into Alex's shoulder, clutching tightly onto Alex.  
"I agreed to it to. I thought everything was fine as well. It's not all your fault." Alex pressed a kiss to Kara's head before trying to hold her even tighter.  
"But it is…I was being selfish Alex." Kara half whispered in to Alex.  
"How were you being selfish Kara?" Alex gently asked.

"Because I wanted to spend time with you. And then I thought…if I asked Lena I would get to see her, even if it was only for a few minutes." Kara hesitated as if saying it would make things worse, "I love her Alex."  
"I love her too Kara." Alex murmured into Kara's hair.  
"I'm not talking about Tess, Alex…I love Tess but I love Lena too." Kara spoke so quietly Alex could barely hear her anymore.  
"As your best friend?"  
Kara ever so slightly shook her head, "More than that."

* * *

While it wasn't exactly restful, Tess had managed to fall asleep even with a knife in her leg as she hung from the ceiling. It was more from pure exhaustion than anything else.  
Lena had attempted to keep her conscious, she was afraid to admit that she was terrified of Tess dying in her sleep. But there was only so much she could do without being able to reach Tess. She had settled for watching Tess like a hawk, keeping her gaze locked on the rise and fall of Tess' chest as she breathed. Occasionally there were pauses that caused Lena to worry, but so far she was confident that Tess was alive.  
It was then that Marcus came into the cell, flanked by a few of his soldiers, the loud crash of the door jolting Tess awake, "Do you know why you're here Tess?"  
Tess glared at Marcus, her shoulders screaming for relief from supporting her body weight, "Because you're an asshole?"  
Marcus narrowed his eyes, coming over and wrenching out the knife from her leg and putting it back in his leg holster, "No. You took everything from us. Our livelihoods, some of us our families, you ruined us."  
Tess clenched her jaw tightly shut, ignoring the trickle of blood flowing down her already blood encrusted jeans. Eventually she found her voice again. "Our earth deserved to die! Everyone on that shithole got what they deserved! The only thing I regret is not being able to kill you."

Tess stared defiantly at Marcus, but he moved faster than Tess could anticipate, his fist slamming up into her upper abdomen, knocking the wind out of her. Tess gasped, unable to catch her breath for a moment as she tried to recover. It took her a moment, but she couldn't help herself again.  
Lena spoke up, her voice begging, "Tess stop."  
Tess shook her head, refusing to look at Lena, keeping her gaze on Marcus "Is this because I beat your ass last year?" Tess spat, "Still insecure about being beaten by a teenage girl Marcus?"  
Marcus landed another punch to her gut, knocking the wind out of her again.  
Tess spluttered as she tasted her own blood in her mouth, spitting it out, "It's not a fair fight when I can't fight back. How about you take these off and we'll settle this fairly."  
Marcus looked like he was about to punch her again, but he slowly reached up to Tess' cuffs, "You always were an insolent little brat."

Tess moved instantaneously as soon as Marcus released her cuffs, slamming her head into Marcus' face, not even pausing to smirk as he reeled back in pain. She lashed out, leading with a solid right jab before following with a left hook and a vicious spin kick to the side of Marcus' head.  
Marcus stumbled a few feet before launching himself forward, tackling Tess to the ground by her waist, causing her to slam her head against the solid concrete floor. He wrapped his hand around her throat, choking her as he reached for the knife he'd just ripped from her thigh.  
Tess was seeing stars, from the hit to the head and the sudden lack of oxygen she was experiencing, she clawed at Marcus' hand, trying to stop his chokehold unsuccessfully, her eyes widened as she saw his knife flash in her field of vision.  
"You think you're so special." Marcus spoke through gritted teeth, "But you've always been a number. That's all you're ever going to be!" Marcus brought his knife to her cheek, quickly carving the numbers '107' into her cheek.  
Tess screamed out in agony, her eyes darkening and her teeth gritting together as she pressed her hands to Marcus' face, digging her fingertips behind his jaw, "If I'm just a number, how come you always call me Tess?!"  
Marcus paused, his eyes flashing in recognition as he saw the fresh wound on Tess' cheek start to close over. He let go of her throat, ripping her hands from his face and grunting in pain as some of his skin ripped under her fingertips and he stood to his feet, "You sick girl!"  
Tess rolled back to her feet, pure disgust in her voice, "I learnt from the best."

Tess lunged towards Marcus again, attacking low as she managed to pin him to the ground like he had just done prior. Only instead of choking him she started to lay punch after punch to his head, whipping his head to the side.  
Marcus had almost had enough before his men pounced through the door, two of them grabbing Tess under the arms and slamming her head against the wall.  
Tess was once again seeing stars, but now they were laying into her. Sharp kicks landed all over her body pummeling her over and over. Eventually it was all too much, Tess' body stilling as the soldiers continued.  
"Stop! You're going to kill her!" Lena screamed, feeling utterly helpless with her hands chained to the wall.  
Marcus got back to his feet slowly, coming over and striking Lena with a backhanded slap across the face before he held his blood-stained knife to her throat. He grabbed a handful of her hair, snapping her head back painfully. He turned his attention to his soldiers, "That's enough!"  
The soldiers stopped, pulling Tess up off the ground so that she could look at Marcus.  
"Don't think that I won't kill her Tess. You know exactly what I'm capable of." Marcus pushed Lena forward, forcing her onto the ground as he got back up. "Leave her for now. Go get the family."  
The soldiers dropped Tess, her head hitting the floor with a crack.  
Marcus came over, looking down at Tess' battered and unconscious body, blood pouring from her head and angry marks flushing her skin. Marcus spat in front of Tess, wiping his mouth and coming away with blood. "You're going to get exactly what you deserve."  
Lena was frozen in shock, her face aching and her wrists felt raw from her cuffs. She was too scared to move and too scared that if she did she'd be threatened again. She curled her knees up to her chest, hoping that Kara would come save them both.

* * *

Kara had moved on from her grief to pure anger. Being called by the DEO to go hunt down a rogue alien was the last straw. She needed to be searching for Tess and Lena and being forced to go home to 'sleep' last night had been a total waste of her time. The whole DEO needed to be searching, but instead they were still diverting their resources and Kara's attention to petty crimes. Kara all but slammed the alien into the wall, unable to contain her angry yell as she did so. The alien was motionless but still breathing; Kara hadn't killed him as much as she wanted to right now. Kara turned on her heels, flying off to Catco to use their resources to find anything she could about anything. No one would notice Tess' disappearance, but Lena's absence was already being talked about by media outlets.  
"Kara what are you doing here?"  
Kara looked around, seeing James standing in the doorway, his hands in his pockets, "Not now James."  
James came closer, "Kara I know you're still mad at me about being Guardian but I just wanted to see how you were going."  
"How I'm _going_?" Kara's voice shook with anger, "How do you think I'm going James! Tess and Lena are gone and I find out I can't even _trust_ two of my closest friends all at once!"  
"Kara I was going to tell you. I didn't mean for it to take this long but the circumstances were out of my control."  
"You had plenty of opportunity to tell me! You kept it a secret from me for months James!" Kara's face was flushed with rage.  
James tried to keep his voice even, realising it was unfair for him to be angry at Kara in return given the timing, "Look I'm sorry Kara. I really am. I promise I will never keep something like that from you again. I just want to help you find Tess and Lena. That's all."

Kara's breathing was ragged from her rage, but her eyes were tired from lack of sleep, she tried to speak up but she felt like she'd lost her voice.  
James stepped forward, pulling Kara into a hug, "You can trust me."  
Kara hesitated before hugging him back, "Promise?"  
James nodded, "I promise. We're going to get them back."  
Kara shut her eyes tightly, "I don't know if we are."  
"No. Tess is strong and so is Lena. If anyone can survive it's them." James reassured Kara.

* * *

Tess woke up, slowing lifting her face up off the cold floor, her head absolutely pounding as she rolled onto her back. She let out a gasp of pain, scrunching her eyes shut as she tried to get used to the pain.  
"Tess?"  
Tess opened her eyes, remembering Lena was here, she tried to turn her head to look at the woman.  
"Tess are you okay?" Lena was pulling herself as far away from the wall as her cuffs would allow, trying to get closer to Tess, "You've been out for hours."  
Tess turned onto her side to face Lena with a small cry of pain, "No." Tess frowned as she saw a black bruise developing on Lena's cheek, along with a split lip. "What did they do to you?"  
Lena shook her head, "I'm fine. Your head is covered in blood I thought you weren't going to wake up…"  
Tess reached up with a trembling hand, wincing and coming away with blood, "I've had worse." Tess slowly moved so she could crawl across the floor to Lena, managing to make her way to the woman with minimal crying. She pulled herself up to lean against the wall next to her, "Kara and Alex will find us. Don't worry."

Lena let out a choked laugh, "You mean Supergirl and Alex."  
Tess looked at Lena, her eyes narrowing, "What do you mean?"  
Lena shook her head in disbelief, "Surely by now we can drop the charade Tess? I know Kara is Supergirl."  
Tess remained silent, searching Lena's eyes for any hint of a bluff.  
Lena stared back at Tess, "I'll take that as confirmation. I know I'm not important enough to know but I do. Even if you don't tell me outright."  
Tess' shoulders slumped in defeat, "Lena. We didn't tell you for a reason. It doesn't mean you're not important."  
Lena scoffed, "No I get it. I'm a Luthor. I can't be trusted."  
"Lena I would trust you with my life. So would Kara. Knowing that Kara is Supergirl is dangerous, she didn't want to put you at risk." Tess pushed.  
"I can look after myself." Lena looked around the room, "Obviously this isn't a good example but I can. You don't have to keep lying to me. Haven't you done that for long enough?"  
Tess was taken aback by the venom in Lena's voice, "I wanted to tell you so badly. I didn't understand why having a secret identity was so important. But I get it now. Because as soon as people know your identity they constantly hold you to an unrealistic standard."

Lena glared at Tess, "Do not turn this on me! You and Kara are the ones that have been lying."  
"What benefit do you get by knowing our secret Lena? So _what_. You know I'm Surge and you know Kara is Supergirl. Now every single one of our enemies can use you to get to us. Now you're placed at much greater risk. Like you said you're a Luthor. You already have a target on your back and now you've made it ten times bigger. You're the genius Lena surely you understand that! This can't just be about us lying to you?" Tess pursed her lips together, keeping her gaze firmly on Lena.  
Lena remained quiet, staring at her feet.  
"Come on Lena. What is this really about? Why are you so mad at Kara about keeping her secret?" Tess sighed.  
"I love her…" Lena whispered.  
Tess frowned, "Sorry what?"  
Lena closed her eyes, running her tongue over her split lip before saying it again, "I love Kara."

"Doesn't everyone?" Tess was confused, unsure as to Lena's sudden change.  
"Not like that…" Lena looked at Tess, "I'm pathetic right?"  
Tess opened her mouth to speak a few times before finally finding her words again, "I didn't know you were…"  
"Do you really think my mother wants the world to know her daughter's has a preference for women?" Lena raised an eyebrow.  
"I'm still somewhat new to this earth. But I guess that wouldn't be okay in your mother's world." Tess looked sadly at Lena.  
"It's stupid though. Kara's not interested." Lena tore her eyes away, staring back at her feet again.  
"You don't think you're getting out of here do you?" Tess asked gently.  
"What makes you say that?" Lena spoke quietly, reluctant to admit she was thinking exactly that.  
"We're not that close. Not close enough for you to admit you're gay. I would say it's my likeable personality but no. You're scared. You don't think we're getting out of here." Tess put her hand gently on Lena's forearm.  
Lena looked at Tess' hand before looking up at Tess, "Have you looked in the mirror lately? I'm amazed you're speaking coherently."  
Tess sighed, "Lena. No matter what, you are getting out of here. Marcus isn't going to kill you, it's not his style. Even if it kills me, you'll get out of here. That's a promise."  
"Don't make promises you can't keep Tess." Lena put her hand over Tess' giving it a squeeze.  
"I don't. You're getting out of here and you're going to tell Kara you love her. She might just surprise you." Tess gave Lena a little smile.  
Lena nodded, biting her lip before wincing as she remembered the split, "Okay."

Tess took a deep breath, she felt like death, she'd never felt more physically destroyed in her life, if she was being honest the edges of her vision were blurred and it felt like her ribs were grating against each other. Sure she'd had worse injuries, but she'd also had her powers. She could feel Lena's energy buzzing next to her, her body crying out for it. Obviously there was no way in hell she would do it, she just wished she'd had the opportunity to drain more from Marcus. It was that little bit of energy keeping her going, but it had already run its course. She looked down at Lena's wrists, only now noticing the blood starting to smear along them. It looked painful and she could see that Lena was trying to avoid jostling them; she went to open her mouth before three soldiers came in. She stood up to meet them, two of them grabbing her under the arms and the third unlocking Lena's cuffs and grabbing hold of her, "What's going on?"  
"You'll find out soon enough."

* * *

Alex groaned, holding her head in her hands, "I can't find anything."  
Maggie came up behind Alex, wrapping her arms around her and nuzzling the back of Alex's neck, "We'll find something."  
Alex sighed, leaning back against Maggie, "I just hope it's not too late already."  
"We're still under 24 hours. It'll be okay." Maggie rubbed small circles on Alex's arm.  
"But we've heard nothing. Nothing at all. Which means they're not doing this for money or anything else. It's like you said it's just revenge. I mean what if they kill Tess? What if they kill Lena? What do we do then?" Alex felt herself spiraling but she couldn't keep it together anymore. She'd already been on the receiving end of Kara's spiral and now she was having her own.  
"We'll find them before anything like that happens." Maggie kissed the back of Alex's neck tenderly.  
Alex turned around on her chair to face Maggie, crashing their lips together for a brief moment before pulling away a little out of breath, "I love you."  
Maggie's lips curved into a smile, "I love you too."  
Alex leant in about to kiss Maggie again before they were interrupted by Winn bursting through the door. Both their eyes locked on Winn, Alex frowning as she saw his scared expression, "What's wrong Winn?"  
Winn's eyes were wide and he was slightly out of breath from running to Alex's lab, "It's Kara."  
Alex was on her feet in an instant, rushing out after Winn with Maggie close behind.

Winn lead them to the main DEO hub, images of Supergirl taking up the screens surrounding them. James stood with his arms crossed, his face full of concern as he watched. Alex's stomach sank as she took in the scene, it was live news footage of Supergirl up high in the sky above the city with a man held out at arms length by his throat. Kara was about to drop the man to his death.  
Maggie gasped, "That's the killer from the other day, he was being transferred to prison today."  
Alex grabbed an earpiece, "Supergirl what are you doing?" Alex watched Kara's head angrily twist in reaction to her voice buzzing in her ear.  
" _Go away Alex."_  
"You know I can't. What's going on?" Alex could hear the fury in Kara's voice, she'd only ever heard Kara so angry a few times.  
" _The DEO is useless! He knows where they're keeping them! I'm finding out!"_  
"Kara everyone is watching you, you can't do this." Alex changed tact, trying to speak to Kara rather than Supergirl.  
" _I can. You can't stop me. So what if everyone sees. Then they'll know not to hurt the people I love."_  
"Kara please. Tess and Lena wouldn't want this. You're better than this, don't sink to this level." Alex was pleading with Kara by this stage.  
" _Tess and Lena would understand!"_  
"No they wouldn't! After everything Tess has been through she wouldn't want you to stoop to this for her! She loves you Kara and she loves you because you're Kara, you're bright and bubbly and overly optimistic. You always see the good in people even when no one else does and you fight for what's right always! And Lena…Kara, Lena would never want you to do this for her. If you do this you're no better than Lillian and that would kill Lena!" Alex knew it was a stretch but she had to get through to Kara.  
" _We have to find them Alex…"_  
Alex could hear Kara's voice breaking and it was heartbreaking, she hated seeing Kara like this, "We're going to. But not like this. Just come to the DEO okay?"  
There was a pause, the news footage still playing of Supergirl holding the man up in the air.  
" _Okay."_  
It was the smallest whisper, the quietest Alex had ever heard Kara, but she saw Supergirl's shoulders slump on the news footage before she disappeared entirely.

Kara appeared in the DEO, her expression blank as she dropped the killer on the floor of the DEO.  
"What were you thinking Kara?" Maggie came over to the man, pulling out her handcuffs.  
"What was I thinking Maggie?! I was thinking that maybe if you'd done your job properly to begin with we wouldn't be in this situation!" Kara glared at Maggie, her hands balled into fists at her side.  
"My job? Kara what the hell do you think I've been doing!?" Maggie fired back, "You know Kara just because you're going through something doesn't mean you get to take the law into your own hands! Supergirl or not!"  
"Apparently I do because we still haven't found Tess and Lena!" Kara was livid at this point, "If you'd done it properly to begin with we could have stopped this! They never would have been taken if you'd just done your job!" Kara screamed at Maggie in front of everyone.  
Maggie was silent, her jaw clenching tightly shut.  
"Kara that's enough! Stop talking right now!" Alex stormed up to Kara, standing up to her sister, "I get that you're upset and angry right now but you do _not_ get to treat everyone like they are lesser beings because they haven't found them yet! I can't do this without you Kara! I need my sister! Please just stop."  
Kara looked around at the agents staring at them, noting just how exhausted every agent appeared. Winn looked like he could fall asleep standing up. Kara looked away, turning her eyes to the floor, "Alex I…"  
Alex sighed, she was so tired and Kara wasn't helping, "Save it."

James slowly came up to Kara, "I think you should take the rest of the time off. I'll handle these things as Guardian okay?"  
Kara nodded at James, her hands resting on her hips, "Are you sure?"  
James gave her a little smile, "I can handle it."  
"But what about your shoulder?" Kara's eyes drifted over his shoulder before looking up to meet his eyes.  
James shrugged, "It hurts but it'll be okay. Winn's already fixed my suit. That does half the work."  
Kara bit her lip, "Thanks James."  
"Just go be the person Alex needs right now." James gave Kara one last nod before walking off. Leaving Kara to play over what she'd just done.

* * *

Tess and Lena were brought to a large room, bright lights causing them to squint as they were shoved inside. Marcus was waiting, a large serrated knife glinting in his hands.  
"I can assure you both, the lighting wasn't your issue in the cell. You both look terrible." Marcus sneered, looking them both over, his eyes lingering on Lena just a bit too long.  
Now that they could see each other better they realised Marcus was right. Tess had blood caked into her hair and on her face, her top was ripped and covered in blood, as were her jeans and her black converse were stained with blood. If there wasn't blood covering her skin there was a bruise instead, she looked like she'd been in the war.  
Lena didn't look much better. Her jeans were ripped in places, her National City sweater was covered in grime and a few spots of blood. Her wrists were a bloody mess, the skin raw and oozing blood from the cuffs that had been rubbing away her skin. The bruise on her cheek was a dark purple, her lip split and swollen and her eyes were bloodshot. Blood was also smeared on the back of her head and neck from where she'd been knocked unconscious when they were kidnapped. Each of them were barely recognisable.

Whilst they were distracted with each other Marcus came closer, grabbing Tess by the throat and pushing her back into the wall, "Do you remember our agreement?"  
Tess hissed in pain, "Was it for you to stop bashing women? Because you're failing miserably asshole."  
Marcus moved his hand, muffling Tess' speech, pinning her against the wall with his body, "I almost forgot how much of a mouth you had on you."  
Tess rolled her eyes, trying to ignore Marcus pressed up against her, "And I forgot how much of a gentleman you are."  
Marcus used the knife still in his hand to lift up the bottom of Tess' shirt, causing Tess to freeze, "Marcus please don't." Tess hated how little her voice sounded, but she was back to being a small fourteen year old who could still get scars.  
Marcus paused, tracing one of the scars on her abdomen with his knife, "What was this one for again?"  
Tess looked up at the ceiling, trying to convince herself that this wasn't happening again but Marcus was digging the knife in further.  
Marcus leaned in close so that his mouth was next to her ear as he lifted his hand off her mouth, "I didn't quite catch that."  
Tess was almost hyperventilating as the words caught in her throat, "For breaking the rules."  
Marcus moved his knife around to her hip, digging into the scar Lena had stared at just the other day, "And this one?"

Tess caught Lena's eye as she looked back down, noticing Lena's furious expression as she was held back by soldiers. Suddenly she felt some of Lena's strength, but then she realised what her back was pressed against. The wall. The wall containing numerous power cables. Tess smirked as she finally registered the familiar buzz of power behind her body. Marcus was still in her ear unable to see her face that made it all the more sweeter. "It was a reminder."  
Marcus dug the knife in deeper, "For what?"  
Tess finally felt the intoxicating flow of energy into her body, "To not get on your bad side again. I think you should have reminded yourself to not get on mine." She felt Marcus tense against her but he was too slow. Tess drained the power, the lights in the room flickering as she felt rejuvenated, the bruises on her body disappearing.  
Marcus tore away from her, clicking his fingers and Lena was shoved to her knees, two guns pointed to her head.  
Tess already had her arm up, ready to blast Marcus but she stopped, the energy causing her hand to glow white as she held it.  
Marcus laughed, a dark expression clouding his eyes, "You're so _fucking_ naïve Tess. Did you honestly think I didn't know you were going to do that? I've watched you since you were born! Studied your every move until you were old enough to join the ranks. I trained you every day for two years! I _taught_ you every move you know! I know every single thing that can get under your skin. You're impulsive and arrogant and it makes you sloppy! The reason I gave you all those scars was to teach you valuable lessons about respecting authority and what happens when you don't. Because breaking rules has consequences! I _am_ the authority and you _will_ do as I say."  
Tess hesitated, her jaw quivering as she fought the urge to just kill Marcus right then and there. She knew Lena would be dead before Marcus even hit the floor but it was still so tempting. But then she had to remember Kara and Alex. They would want her to stop, to just hold on until they arrived. Slowly she lowered her hand, the energy dissipating.  
Marcus knew he had won once again, the corner of his lips curling into a smile, "Get the room ready."

Tess was shoved into a room, the door being slammed shut behind her. She looked around, noticing that Lena was no longer with her. Within a few moments her surroundings lit up, a blue force field of sorts surrounding the a portion of the room but allowing her to see the surroundings. There was another door on the other side of the room but the force field didn't extend to the other side. She didn't recognise it as her earth's technology, it had to be alien. Marcus came into view, his gun pressed against Lena's temple.  
"Lena you're going to be okay. I promise don't worry. What are you doing Marcus?" Tess pressed herself against the force field, hoping she could absorb the energy but her attempts proved futile.  
Lena was crying, this whole situation had finally broken her. She no longer felt like the badass billionaire CEO she presented to the world. Now she was just Lena, the abandoned little girl who nobody loved. She almost was wishing Marcus would just pull the trigger. Every inch of her hurt and she thought that by now Kara would have arrived as Supergirl to save them. But it hadn't happened. Supergirl wasn't going to save them. Kara was never going to know she loved her. She felt Marcus press the gun even further into her temple, her eyes closing as more tears rolled down her cheeks.  
Marcus motioned behind Tess, "You have a choice."

Tess turned around, noticing the package that was left behind by one of the soldiers. She picked it up, opening it and finding a syringe filled with an odd shade of yellow liquid inside it. "What the hell is this Marcus?"  
"It's a simple choice. Inject yourself with that syringe, or I kill Miss Luthor here." Marcus spoke so nonchalantly that it made Tess' blood boil, it was like Lena's life was meaningless.  
"What the hell is in the syringe?" Tess held it in front of her, frowning as she tried to think what it could be.  
"Early retirement." Marcus smirked.  
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Tess shot back, not following.  
"Inject it now or I'm going to kill her." Marcus clicked off the safety on his gun.  
"Wait! I'll do it! I'll do it okay!" Tess held the syringe up, uncapping it.  
Lena's eyes shot open, "Tess wait! Don't do this! Don't do it for me I don't deserve it!."  
Tess looked sadly at Lena, feeling utterly responsible for the broken mess that Lena was, "You don't deserve to die Lena. You deserve to be happy."  
"Tess stop! No!" Lena shouted, fighting against Marcus even as he held her firmly.  
Tess pushed the syringe into her arm, injecting the liquid.

* * *

Winn yawned at his desk, his eyes lazily glossing over his computer screen. No matter what he tried he wasn't coming up with anything. He'd been up diverting his attention between James doing work as Guardian and trying to find Tess and Lena. He had just started to shut his eyes to doze off when his computer alarmed, a pop-up occurring in the corner. He jumped, his eyes wide as he clicked the pop-up. It was his software. The one he'd been using the track the Cadmus trials copying Tess' abilities. There was a massive power surge occurring in the downtown area. He sprinted from his computer, running to Alex's lab where he knew Kara and Alex had spent the last few hours trying to be productive. He burst through the door, a crazy look in his bloodshot and exhausted eyes.  
Alex jolted awake from where she was asleep on her desk, "Winn you need to stop doing that."  
Winn ignored her completely, "I've got her!"  
Kara had also woken up from a restless sleep, looking at Winn confused, "What's going on?"  
"I've found them! We need to go now!"

Winn ran from the room, back to the hub with Kara and Alex right behind him. J'onn had appeared in the hub, his eyes watching the screen.  
Winn crashed into his chair, his fingers flying over the keyboard, "Here! There's a massive power surge happening in this area right now. It has to be Tess, there's no copycats left and she's the only person, alien, whatever that can create an energy signature like this now."  
"We need to go right now." Kara turned to leave but was grabbed by Alex.  
"No you can't rush in there. We don't know what we're walking into. They could kill them both before we walk through the door if we're not careful. We need every available agent working on this. We need building blueprints, CCTV, intel, every piece of information we can get within the hour. After that hour is up we're going in." Alex turned into the boss, watching as agents started to mobilise around her.  
"Alex we can't just wait!" Every instinct Kara had was telling her to just go now. To go find Tess and Lena and just hug them both until she couldn't hug them any longer.  
"Alex is right Kara. We can't rush this. We know where they are now, we've got this. We'll have them home soon." J'onn gave Kara a knowing look, sensing exactly what she wanted to do.  
Kara eventually gave in, "Please just give me something to do in the meantime."

* * *

Tess stood still, waiting for whatever she'd just injected herself with to start taking effect. Marcus had let go of Lena, who was now on the floor with her knees tucked up to her chest. Tess heard the door behind her open, her jaw dropping as four people were shoved into the room, one of them would barely reach her hips. If Tess could die anymore on the inside she did now, she took in the scene, it was this earth's version of her family again, including Max. She turned on her heels and if looks could kill Marcus would be dead a thousand times over, "What the hell Marcus!"  
Marcus came up to the force field, "I don't want to spoil the surprise. But I want to see the look on your face."  
Tess looked back, seeing that while the family was relatively uninjured they were all in tears, Max was screaming and sobbing in his mother's arms. The soldiers had also dragged a piece of equipment into the room, leaving it behind before they left.  
"That drug you took is about to rip you apart. Say goodbye to your powers Tess because as we speak your body is fighting it's own DNA. Every gene in your body that gives you your powers are being switched off." Marcus explained, pacing back and force in front of Tess.  
Tess started to panic, pointing to the equipment the soldiers had left behind, "What is that?"  
Marcus stopped his pacing, "That is a portable nuclear fusion reactor. From our earth. You see, as your body fights against itself your powers are going to go into overdrive. Fighting to keep itself strong. That fusion reactor is going to keep it at bay for a little while. But the drug works fast, and then you're body is going to want to release all that energy before your last gene is turned off. That's when you're going to kill the family in there with you. You're going to explode with power and there will be nothing left of them."

Tess looked back at Max, at the other her, at her parents. They didn't deserve this. They were innocent. They were nothing to do with this. The only reason they were here was because of her. She started to hyperventilate completely, collapsing to the ground in a heaving mess as she struggled to breathe. She could hear Marcus start to laugh behind her and that was when she snapped. She got back to her feet, starting to try and pummel the force field with her fists, starting to feel her body overflowing with power. "You can't do this to them Marcus! They didn't do anything!"  
Marcus shrugged, "Everyone on our earth didn't deserve to die. But that didn't stop you did it?"  
Tess screamed even louder, her fists rapidly pounding against the force field but it wasn't budging.  
Lena had stopped clutching her knees to her chest and had crawled forward to the force field, her hand reaching up to meet Tess, "Tess come on you can fight this."  
Tess backed away from Lena, struggling to catch her breath at all.

Tess felt a hand on her shoulder, seeing her 'mother' standing behind her. She pulled her into a hug and Tess collapsed into her arms a sobbing mess, repeating 'I'm sorry' over and over again. The woman pulled her to the rest of the family, all of them huddling together as Tess kept her eyes tightly shut. It was agony by now and she couldn't help the scream that started to be ripped from her throat. It was like napalm through her veins, the worst pain she'd ever felt in her entire life and it was only made worse by the situation. These people, people who didn't even know her, who only knew that she was their daughter from another world were holding her tight. She was a monster. That was all she could think. _Monster_. _Monster_. _Monster._ She was a monster who was about to destroy yet another family.

Lena watched in horrified awe, watching as Tess literally started to glow with power. All the pain in her body was momentarily out of her thoughts as she watched. She'd never seen anything like it and Marcus was just standing there grinning like it was funny. She stood to her feet, slowly and methodically, steeling herself before she launched a punch at the side of Marcus' head. Just as his stunned eyes snapped round to meet her there was a sudden earth shatteringly loud noise. Lena barely had any time to react before she felt herself being thrown against the wall, an explosion of blindingly bright light hitting her at full force.

* * *

Winn watched the surge on his tablet grow, the hour was almost up and most agents were getting ready to assault the compound they'd found. He was in one of the DEO's mobile work stations, just a few hundred metres away from the compound. But the numbers were no longer adding up, he ran the program again before realising the numbers were correct. The levels of energy were off the charts, more energy than the National City power grid even contained. He ran out of the vehicle, watching along with the rest of the DEO agents as bright white light started to light up the compound. But then just as quickly as it came it was gone. The surge was gone completely, no trace at all. He tapped his tablet screen frantically before he just yelled, "Get in there now!"

* * *

Lena felt like she could barely breath as slowly lifted herself off the ground. If she wasn't in pain before she was now. A high-pitched alarm was sounding and Marcus was groaning a few metres away from her. She quickly looked at where Tess had been, seeing the force field was now disabled and amongst the dust clearing she just managed to see a flash of Tess' hair. She got to her feet, limping as she did so and found Tess coughing and choking on the dust.  
Lena quickly pulled Tess close, helping her sit upright as she ignored the other bodies nearby. Whilst her ears were ringing she could hear boots trampling overhead. Wrapping her arm under Tess and draping the girls' arm over her shoulder, Lena looked up at the door hopeful, "It sounds like help is here."  
Tess couldn't speak, she was in a complete state of shock.  
Lena stood them up and stumbled towards the door, trying to listen to the chaos erupting outside.

Marcus had gotten to his feet by now, his knife in his hand. Blood dripped down his face, into his eyes and he looked insane, "You still survived!?"  
Neither Lena nor Tess could react in time as Marcus lunged forward, grabbing Tess by the throat. "You're going to die." Marcus growled, his spit hitting Tess in the face as he plunged his knife into her abdomen three times, the serrations creating a path of destruction through Tess' body. He tightened his grip even further than Tess thought possible, forcing her to meet his eyes, "You deserve this." Marcus drove his knife into her chest, waiting a brief moment before he ripped it out and threw her to the ground. He glared at Lena before gunfire outside gained his attention instead. He spun on his heels and sprinted outside, leaving Lena and Tess behind.

Lena dropped to the ground to help Tess, trying to place her hands over the wounds marring Tess chest and abdomen but she didn't have enough hands. "Stay with me Tess. Help is here. Stay with me."  
Tess spluttered as blood leaked from her mouth and she looked up into Lena's eyes, "You…it was you…when I got here…you helped me…"  
Lena's eyes started to well up with tears as she nodded and looked down into Tess' eyes. Those once vibrant, incredibly blue eyes that were now dull and empty,  "That was me..."  
"You…deserve to…be happy." Tess started to choke, blood catching in her throat.  
Lena didn't know what to do, her hands were covered in blood, she was covered in blood, hell everything around her was covered in blood and Tess' injuries only continued to bleed. Lena pulled her hands away and gently cradled Tess' head in her lap, brushing aside the loose hairs in Tess' eyes. "Stay with me Tess. Okay? You have to stay with me!"  
Tess looked down at her injuries, before slowly dragging her eyes back up to look at Lena, her hand reaching up to grab Lena's arm, "It's okay…I'll be…okay." Tess' hand fell from Lena's arm as she was struggling to stay awake, her eyes losing focus as she started to close them.  
"Stay with me Tess! Don't give up! Tess. Tess! Wake up!" Lena pulled Tess close to her, unable to control her despair any longer as tears started to stream down her face. "Help! Somebody help! Please!" Lena screamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author Note: Please don't hate me too much - things will be okay I promise. Come yell at me on tumblr - onceuponasuperfanfic


	13. Chapter 13 - Broken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a very short chapter for you all but I couldn't leave you hanging for too much longer after your responses to the last chapter! It's short but hopefully it'll put some of your minds at rest for a little until I can get the next chapter up.

As soon as Winn had said the word Alex and Kara had launched into action. It had taken them a few minutes to explore the compound and that was when she'd heard the screaming. Alex had barely set foot into the room before she felt everything crumble around her. She had barely lowered her gun before she dropped to her knees next to Tess. She took in the sight around her; there was so much blood. Even her knees were now soaked in blood from the copious amounts oozing from Tess' body. Her hands flew to find a pulse, finding an extremely weak and fast pulse, she didn't even hear herself scream for a medic as her hands moved to cover the wounds that Lena couldn't.  
Kara had heard Alex's screams by then, her attention moving from the escaping soldiers in the facility to finding her sister. It took her seconds to reach the room, and only seconds more for her to find herself with tears streaming down her face. She dropped to the floor with Lena and Alex, "No no no!"  
Lena's eyes were torn from Tess to Kara, her heart shattering even more at the pure devastation evident on Kara's face. "She doesn't have her powers. They're gone Alex!"  
Alex's already worried expression changed to complete terror, her eyes widening as she realised the complete severity of the situation, medics started to surround them. It was like Alex flipped a switch in her head, ripping open the medical equipment that had been brought, "I want two large bore IV's, push everything we have! Get me an ET tube and a bag, we need to transport her right now! We can't treat this at the DEO, someone contact National City General we need them to make every bag of O- blood available right now and have them prepped!"

Alex was handed an ET tube, "Supergirl, Lena move out of the way."  
Kara was beside herself, tears streaming down her face as she was frozen in place.  
Lena moved, reaching out for Kara, in this moment she needed her to know that she could rely on Lena, "Kara let Alex do this."  
Kara looked up at Lena, her eyes red and puffy as her jaw was clenched tightly shut.  
Some small part of Alex registered Lena calling Kara by name, but she couldn't focus on that, "Kara you need to move!"  
Kara pulled herself away, looking down at her blood stained hands before she properly took in Lena. Lena was covered in dust and blood and looked lost. Kara felt like her whole world was falling apart. The team were already getting ready to transport Tess, she was already intubated and placed on a stretcher.  
"National City Private." Lena choked out quietly.  
No one heard her amongst the chaos and Kara was too upset to do anything.  
"National City Private!" Lena yelled, watching as eyes were torn away from Tess to her, "Take her there. They're the best surgeons in the state." Lena was trembling as she spoke, and finally another DEO medic came to her side.  
Kara finally found it within herself to move, coming to Lena's side and supporting her as they followed the team of medics working on Tess out of the compound.

* * *

It was a whirlwind of organised chaos as Alex and the medical team moved to transfer Tess to National City Private. Lena had been walked out of the compound by Kara before being transferred to a stretcher also and moved as part of the transfer.  
Kara had flown ahead, tears streaming from her eyes still as she landed, meeting the DEO team and Alex as they arrived. Alex blew past her, a picture of controlled terror as she continued to work on stabilising Tess. Kara could hear her whispering quietly to Tess, asking her to hold on and it felt like Kara's heart was being crushed in her chest. The team handed over Tess to a group of doctors and nurses dressed in scrubs and ready to operate. Alex was left at the threshold, standing there with her hands trembling. Lena was wheeled into another area by more staff, her eyes briefly meeting Kara's before she too disappeared. Leaving only the Danvers sisters behind as the DEO agents cleared out.  
Alex slowly cleared her throat, pulling off her gloves and chucking them in a nearby bin. She caught a look at herself in the reflection, her pants and boots covered in blood along with a few small patches on her shirt. She choked back a sob before she saw Kara come up next to her. They collapsed into each other Alex sobbing into Kara's caped shoulder as Kara sobbed into Alex's. They stood there for what felt like hours but the tears kept coming and neither of them wanted to let go. Scared of what might happen if they did.

After they finally pulled themselves apart, Kara flew them back to the DEO, only for a few moments to allow Alex to get changed from her blood stained clothes. Then they were back at National City Private, anxiously pacing in the waiting room for a few hours before Alex finally spoke up.  
Alex stopped her pacing, "You should go check up on Lena."  
Kara's eyes widened as she realised how much time had passed, "Shit I should have checked on her ages ago."  
Alex nodded, "Go. I'll call if anything changes here."  
"If anything changes?" Kara looked sadly at Alex, " _If_ Alex?"  
Alex looked at the floor, "I don't know Kara…I…I don't know."  
Kara bit the inside of her cheek, keeping herself from crying again, "Okay…"  
Alex quickly wiped her eyes before pulling Kara into a tight hug, "Go."  
Kara took a deep breath, desperately clutching on to Alex before swiftly pulling away, "I love you."  
"I love you too." Alex smiled sadly at Kara and watched her disappear down the hospital corridor.

* * *

Kara knocked, slowly entering Lena's hospital room, "Lena?"  
Lena looked up, her face set in a mixture of grief, loss, horror and exhaustion as she sat up in her hospital bed. Tears, stitches and bruises marring her usually perfect features along with an IV connected to her arm and bandages around her wrists, "Kara?"  
Kara closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around Lena gently, "I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry Lena."  
Lena took a few moments before she returned the hug, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks, "Is Tess alright?"  
"She's still in surgery, we don't know-" Kara paused, struggling to get the words out. She didn't want to use the word 'if' like Alex had, Tess had to survive. "We don't know when she'll be out. I should have come to see you sooner I just…time got away from me."  
Lena nodded in understanding, Kara's pause saying all she needed to know. "It's okay."  
"This is my fault, I should have just told you. Then none of this would have ever happened." Kara rested her forehead gently against Lena's, casting her eyes downwards to avoid Lena's gaze.  
Lena paused herself, taking a moment to build her courage, "It's okay Kara…"  
"No. No it's not okay, I could have stopped this, I should have stopped this!" Kara started to ramble.  
Lena cut off Kara with a kiss; it was desperate but still impossibly soft.  
Kara didn't pull away, instead her hands ever so gently made their way around Lena's waist as she kissed Lena back.  
The kiss continued, Lena's hands weaving themselves into Kara's hair to keep her close. Eventually they both pulled away from each other out of breath.

"I understand Supergirl…" Lena bit her lip, looking at Kara for a reaction.  
Kara was locked in a state of shock, unable to process everything happening at once.  
Lena looked over Kara's face, taking in the moment, "I've been wanting to do that for so long."  
Kara straightened her glasses, trying to recover, but her brain was going haywire, "I wasn't imagining you saying that back…there. How long have you known?"  
"I've known for a while Kara. Your crinkle, your little slip ups. There were so many clues. I'm not an idiot." Lena diverted her gaze to look out her hospital room's window.  
Kara frowned, her forehead doing the same crinkle Lena just mentioned, "You're not mad at me?"  
Lena turned back to Kara, gazing at Kara's eyes behind the glasses, "I'm furious, the longer you kept it secret the angrier I was getting. But I finally understand it now. In that _place_ I saw exactly what knowing your identity does to those you love."  
Kara sat on the side of Lena's bed, resting a hand on Lena's knee under the blankets, "I'm sorry Lena. I truly am. I can't even imagine."  
Lena shook her head, "Don't try to imagine. Please just…come here."  
Kara looked puzzled, "Here?"  
Lena moved to the side of her bed, motioning to the spot next to her.  
"I don't know if I should…" Kara hesitated.  
"Please." Lena wiped her tears off her face.  
Kara gave a small smile before moving to rest on her side facing Lena.  
Lena moved so she was facing Kara, the two of them looking at each other. Lena's eyes scanned Kara's face, taking in all the details before her eyes settled on Kara's lips, the lips she'd just kissed.

"You're beautiful Lena. Has anyone told you that before?" Kara whispered almost to herself.  
Lena met Kara's eyes once more, "My face is currently one giant bruise Kara..."  
"That doesn't change anything." This time Kara initiated the kiss, brushing a strand of Lena's hair behind her ear before leaning in to place a small peck on Lena's lips.  
Lena's hands reached up, grabbing Kara's shirt collar and pulling her closer so their bodies were pressed together.  
"What are we doing Lena?" Kara quietly spoke into the small space of air between her face and Lena's.  
Lena stared at Kara's lips, hoping that this wasn't just her hallucinating on painkillers, "I don't know...I've always wanted you I just…I didn't think you did."  
Kara's breath caught in her throat before words tumbled out finally, "I do want you."  
Lena once again closed the space between them, her hands still on Kara's collar as she deepened the kiss. She could feel Kara pressing against her, it was intoxicating and all her pain was melting away. It might have been the drugs, but Lena was inclined to believe it was Kara.

Kara and Lena jumped as a knock sounded outside the door, both of them quickly pulling apart.  
Kara was just managing to slide herself off the edge of the bed when Maggie entered the room.  
Maggie paused, a small frown crossing her face, "Kara? I thought you'd be with Alex?"  
Kara pushed herself further away from Lena, noticing the small glint of sadness in Lena's eyes, "Uh no I...we're waiting for Tess to come out of surgery. She told me to come check on Lena."  
Maggie noticed the way Kara was completely avoiding meeting her gaze as was Lena, but she chose to ignore it, "I was just wanting a witness statement from Miss Luthor..."  
"Lena. It's Lena." Lena fiddled with her hands, looking at the bandages on her wrists.  
Kara noticed the movement, Lena never fidgeted. Ever. She just wanted to hold Lena's hands in her own and tell her everything was going to be okay, but Maggie was watching.  
"Is it okay if I ask you some questions Lena?" Maggie looked curiously at Lena, a sympathetic smile on her face.  
Lena paused, finally looking up at Maggie, "Now?"  
"Surely this can wait Maggie?" Kara adjusted her glasses and tucked a loose hair behind her ear. She just realised how messy her hair had become from Lena's grip.  
"It can but...we don't have a good description of the suspect that we think-"  
Maggie stopped as she noticed Lena mouth something quietly, "I didn't catch that Lena?"  
Kara interjected, seemingly horrified, "Wait we didn't catch the person who did this to Lena and Tess?"  
Lena took a deep breath before dragging her eyes to look up at Maggie, her eyes briefly darting to Kara, "You're looking for a monster."  
"That doesn't exactly-" Maggie started before she saw Lena's expression change angrily.  
"Do you know how many times he hurt her? All he wanted to do was inflict pain. He shot her, he punched her, he _stabbed_ her _. Repeatedly._ He hung her from the ceiling and chained me to a _wall_. He nearly killed her on several occasions and all I could do was scream and watch. And then he'd just put a knife to my throat or a gun to my head, and even _then_. Even when Tess could hardly speak from the pain or see from the blood pouring into her eyes she still gave up everything for me. She promised me that she would get me out of there even if it _killed her._ She chose to save me and it cost her _everything_. She didn't just lose her powers because of me. She was tricked into killing her family." Lena stared at Kara, "Little Max from the parade is dead because Tess was so selfless that she chose to save me instead of herself. If Tess dies it's because of me, and if she _survives_? Then who knows what kind of person she'll be. He _destroyed_ her. Physically and mentally. So to answer your question _Detective_. You're looking for a monster. He doesn't deserve to be known as anything more."

Kara couldn't take it anymore. It was causing her heart to physically hurt as Lena described the horrors that she'd experienced with Tess. She started to feel her chest tightening as she struggled to breathe.  
Maggie noticed Kara starting to hyperventilate, reaching out a hand, "Kara?"  
Kara ripped herself away from Maggie, her eyes wide with horror, "I have to go."  
"Kara just take a deep breath-" Maggie held her hands up to try and calm Kara down but it wasn't doing anything.  
Kara just shook her head, tears starting to stream down her face as her breathing was coming in ragged gasps, "I have to go."  
Maggie was helpless to stop Kara as she rushed past her. She looked back up at Lena, noticing that she was now staring out the window, "Lena?"  
"Get out."  
Maggie frowned, unsure she'd heard properly, "I'm sorry?"  
Lena looked back at Maggie, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, "I said. Get. _Out."_  
Maggie bit the inside of her cheek before nodding, "I'll come back later."  
"Get out!" Lena all but screamed, waiting for Maggie to leave.  
Maggie rapidly turned on her heels, leaving Lena alone.  
Lena curled her knees up to her chest, wincing at the movement before she let herself cry. Kara wasn't here to hold her anymore and she was well and truly falling apart now.

* * *

Alex stopped her pacing, watching as a surgeon walked out into the waiting area, she was the only one there so it had to be Tess. She waited, watching as the surgeon met her eyes and started to walk towards her. She held her breath in anticipation, her heart pounding in her chest.  
The surgeon reached Alex, giving her a strained smile, "I take it you're the family? Are you her mum?"  
Alex was caught off guard by the question, "Uh no…I'm her…cousin." Even as Alex said the word it felt odd, Tess felt like her little sister now.  
"Are the parent's coming soon?" The surgeon frowned, looking at the empty waiting room.  
Alex shook her head quickly, "There's no other family left. Just my sister and I. She's in our care."  
The surgeon paused before giving her a little smile again, "Do you want to sit?" The surgeon motioned towards the chairs in the waiting room.  
"I'm fine. Please just tell me she's alright." Alex looked pleadingly at the surgeon.  
The surgeon took a deep breath, "We had to perform very invasive surgery and as you know she lost a lot of blood. She's stable for now but it could go either way. She's being transferred to the intensive care unit now on a ventilator. We can take you to go see her but it's going to be confronting."  
Alex already felt numb to everything, her hands trembling slightly, "I have to call my sister."  
The surgeon nodded, "There's no rush. Just head down to ICU when you're ready."  
Alex hurriedly pulled out her phone, her hands still trembling as she called Kara.

* * *

Kara's phone rang, she went to hang up thinking it was Maggie but it was Alex. She answered it, silence greeting her as she didn't speak.  
Eventually the silence broke, " _Kara?"  
_ "Is she okay?"  
 _"She's out of surgery."  
_ "So she's okay?" Kara felt her voice catch in her throat, wiping her eyes with her free hand.  
" _We can go see her."_  
"Which means she's okay right?" Kara sounded desperate but she didn't care.  
" _I don't know. Just…just come find me so we can see her okay?"_  
Kara took a deep breath, closing her eyes and counting to three before she replied, "Okay."

Alex waited, her hands shoved deep into her pockets so that they wouldn't tremble. Eventually she saw Kara appear at the end of the corridor, her heart speeding up as she noticed Kara's red eyes from crying, "Are you okay?"  
"No." Kara adjusted her glasses out of habit, "I need to see her."  
"She's going to be hooked up to a lot of equipment…" Alex started to explain.  
"I know, Alex."  
"I'm not just saying that for your benefit…" Alex pulled her hands out of her pockets, no longer hiding the trembling, "I can't do this without you Kara. Please just tell me that we're going to get through this together okay? No matter what you're not going to go off and leave me behind. I can't fly away from my problems like you. I _need_ you and so does Tess."  
Kara slowly nodded, "I promise Alex."  
Alex breathed a sigh of relief, "I love you."  
"I love you too." Kara put her arm around Alex, pulling her close before she pressed the buzzer on the wall. Waiting for the doors to intensive care to open.

Both of them gasped as they finally laid eyes on Tess. The unconscious girl in front of them was barely recognisable. Their Tess was bright and sassy and full of energy. Her dark brown hair was always flowing haphazardly on her shoulders or pulled up into a tight ponytail. Her blue eyes were always burning brightly with every expression. For a 16 year old she managed to portray the perfect picture of 'don't mess with me', and her posture and muscular features were proof. But this girl in front of them was not their Tess. This Tess' hair was damp and limp from being washed to get the blood out. Her eyes were closed and she looked paler than Kara or Alex had ever seen. There were ties running over her cheeks to hold the breathing tube in place in her throat. The tubing connected to a ventilator that was doing all the work for her. A tube ran into her nose, tape holding it in place on the tip of her nose and her cheek.

A bundle of tubes were connected to a central line that disappeared into her neck. A variety of medications were currently being pumped into her body all at once, keeping her sedated and alive. Wires disappeared under the hospital gown covering her, connecting to the series of electrodes on her chest monitoring her rapid heart beat. Another tube was in her wrist, an arterial line monitoring her low blood pressure, along with a probe on her fingertip monitoring her oxygen saturation. Another tube was inserted in the space between her ribs and draining blood into a container, just below an incision that started under her armpit and looped down and around to the middle of her chest. More stitches and dressings covered her stab wounds under the gown and there were more tubes still.

It was utterly overwhelming and Kara and Alex were both frozen in place. A nurse looked up at them, drawing up a syringe of medication as she did, "You're her family?"  
Kara and Alex were still both frozen but the shock wore off Alex first who nodded, "Yes. I'm Alex, this is my sister Kara."  
The nurse smiled empathetically at them, "I understand this must be very overwhelming."  
Kara finally stepped forward, her eyes glossing over Tess and taking in everything, "Can I…can I touch her?"  
The nurse nodded, "Of course. She's sedated but you can talk to her too. Let me just give this medication and then I'll be out of your way and you can sit on these chairs."  
Kara and Alex waited patiently for the nurse to finish before the nurse moved out of their way and sat just outside the room, sitting down to document everything as she remained watching Tess.  
Kara swallowed the lump in her throat as she sat down, her hand reaching out to carefully tuck a piece of hair behind Tess' ear.  
Alex took hold of Tess' hand, gently squeezing it and hoping for any reaction from Tess. But there wasn't any.

They both sat in silence for a while, listening to the rhythmic beating of Tess' heart on the monitor and to the ventilator forcing air into Tess lungs. It was strange the way Tess' chest rose and fell, constant and mechanical.  
Kara slowly stood up, leaning over and placing a careful kiss on Tess' clammy forehead, "I'm so sorry." Kara rested her forehead against Tess' temple, whispering into her ear, "I should have been there. I should have saved you and Lena. This never should have happened I'm so sorry. I'm so _so_ sorry Tess. _Please_ fight for this Tess. I know how devastated you must be about your family but we're your family too. Alex and I are here and we're never leaving you again. I promise. I love you so much."  
Kara pulled her face away, her thumb gently stroking the side of Tess' face.  
Alex silently started to cry as she listened to Kara's whispers, before she stood up, leaning over next to Kara and whispering just like she'd done, "Kara's right Tess. _We_ should have been there. I'm sorry we weren't but we're here now. We're not giving up on you so you don't get to give up either. I know just how stubborn you are so don't you dare give me any of that crap. You're a fighter and you can get through this. You're the strongest teenager I know. We'll all get through this together because Kara's right, we're a family and you don't have to do this alone. We're going to be right here with you every step of the way. So just fight Tess. Fight like you've never fought before because we need you. We can't do this without you either." Alex placed the gentlest of kisses on Tess' cheek, hoping for some kind of response that she knew she wasn't going to get, "I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if I went a bit overboard with the medical stuff - I'm a nurse so I couldn't help myself. If you need some clarification just google or message me!


	14. Chapter 14 - Realisation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter. Apologies for the delay, I started my new job this week and I've been exhausted and struggling to find the time to work on it! It's not the greatest or the longest chapter ever but it is an update - a bit more filler than anything else but I hope you guys still enjoy it. Thanks for all your support for this story, you guys are amazing. Please if you have any requests or suggestions for this story let me know!

Alex tried to stretch, her back killing her from being in the chair for so long. Both her and Kara had stayed the night and attempted to sleep. But it wasn't exactly successful. Every time they had been close either the nurse had moved from just outside the room to adjust something or give another medication. That or Tess' monitors had started to alarm for various reasons. At one stage Alex and Kara were removed from the room, Tess being swarmed by a variety of doctors and nurses. Luckily it had been nothing serious and Kara and Alex were allowed to return to the bedside. But Tess had survived the night and that was all they cared about right now. Tess just had to keep surviving and everything would be alright.

Alex got up from her chair, noticing a missed call from Maggie a little over an hour ago. Kara was actually starting to nod off so Alex quietly got off her chair, leaving the ICU to call Maggie back. It was then that she noticed Maggie sitting outside, "Maggie?"  
Maggie looked up from her phone, her face softening as she saw Alex, "Hey…you didn't answer your phone so I thought maybe I could catch you here."  
"How long have you been here?" Alex came over slowly, the exhaustion evident on her face.  
Maggie stood up, putting her phone in her pocket, "Not long. How's she going?"  
Alex swiftly grasped the back of Maggie's neck, tangling her fingers in her hair as she pulled her in for a kiss.  
Maggie was taken off guard, stumbling slightly before she put her hands on Alex's shoulders, groaning slightly at Alex's insistent kiss before she gently pushed her away, "Babe. I thought you might want to talk about things?"  
Alex shook her head, leaning in to kiss Maggie again.  
Maggie gave in to Alex for a few more moments before pushing her again, "Alex I really think we should talk about this."  
Alex groaned, resting her head on Maggie's shoulder and moving her hands down to wrap around Maggie's waist, "I don't want to."  
Maggie sighed, shifting her hands to massage the back of Alex's head, "At least promise me that you'll talk to me when you're ready okay?"  
Alex felt herself relaxing into Maggie, whining slightly at her fingers digging into her scalp, "I love you."  
"I love you too."

* * *

It was late in the afternoon when Kara started to lose her cool again. Being completely sleep deprived wasn't helping things and the moment she'd shared with Lena wasn't helping either. It was playing on her mind over and over and not in a good way. She felt conflicted, it was what she wanted to do but it didn't feel right. It felt like she'd overstepped entirely. Lena had initiated the kiss but she was also dosed up on various drugs when it happened. She needed to go speak to her. Alex had come back as Kara had been woken up by a nurse so she took the opportunity. Her legs carrying her back to Lena's room and knocking.

Lena froze, she'd just finished getting dressed to go home after a painful and drawn out process. She crossed her fingers it wasn't Maggie and opened the door, breathing a sigh of relief as she saw Kara.  
Kara saw the obvious relief on Lena's face and frowned, "Expecting someone else?"  
Lena smiled, her cheek aching as she did, "I was hoping not."  
Kara noticed the bed made behind Lena and that she was in a fresh set of clothes, "Are you going home?"  
Lena nodded, "I've got my painkillers and I'm going home. Is Tess alright?"  
Kara paused, nervously adjusting her glasses, "She's in intensive care. She can't even breathe for herself right now…"  
Lena's face fell before she tried to look hopeful, "But she's alive."  
Kara nodded, "I've been with her all night. I needed a break if I'm being honest. Can we talk about what happened?"  
Lena bit her lip, wincing as she realised it was still healing, "What part?"  
Kara's eyes were drawn to Lena's lips before she snapped her eyes back up, "Everything."  
"Well I have a question…" Lena offered.  
Kara swallowed the lump in her throat, "And that is?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lena stared at Kara's eyes behind her glasses, studying the perfect blue of her iris'.  
"About the…'super' part or the love part?" Kara nervously licked her lips, seeing some of Lena's classic Luthor fire burning in her eyes.  
"The 'super' part. Could I not be trusted?"  
"I didn't tell you not because I didn't trust you Lena. I didn't tell you to protect you." Kara started before Lena interrupted.  
"I'm an adult Kara I can look after myself." Lena knew she had stepped on a nerve as soon as the words left her mouth.  
"Lena you're leaving _hospital._ That's crap and we both know it! You got hurt because of me! I did everything I could to hide it from you because I was scared that something bad would happen to you! And the more I got to know you I knew just how much it would crush you knowing that our whole relationship was built on a lie. But I couldn't risk it. So I didn't tell you, and maybe it was a stupid decision because you got hurt anyway. Of course I regret not telling you but I'm sorry, I wouldn't have changed my decision even if I knew what I knew now. It is my secret. I get to choose who knows and who doesn't because it all comes back on me if something happens! And it did. It was a stupid mistake for me to kiss you."  
Lena stood in stunned silence, feeling like she'd been punched in the gut, "I…what? Kara what does that have to do with you kissing me?"  
"It has everything to do with me kissing you!" Kara shook her head, "Just…let's just drop it Lena."  
"Kara I can't just-"  
"No Lena. I can't." Kara turned on her heels, leaving Lena once again alone and wondering what the hell she'd done now.

* * *

Everything was fuzzy, even her hearing? Tess had never felt so exhausted and 'off'. Her head was absolutely pounding, the lights were far too bright, and the beeping noises off to her side were horrific, it felt like they were digging into her skull. She reached her hands up to hold her head, trying to lift them up something got snagged and a lightning bolt of pain rushed through her body as she moved. She felt a hand on her shoulder but she was in too much pain to open her eyes, another hand landed on her arm, holding it steady. She pushed back against it but it only made her body hurt more. She realised then that she felt like she couldn't breathe, like she couldn't take in any air. She could hear some voices but she didn't recognise any of them. They started to fade again, as did the pain and the hands gently repositioned her arms before letting go. Slowly the sounds dimmed and Tess was swallowed up by darkness, her world spiraling once again out of her control.

Kara had gone to get some fresh air and returned to the chaos that was Tess. She'd started to freak out but a nurse had quickly reassured her that everything was okay. Kara was cursing herself still. She'd royally screwed up everything already. She could feel herself burning up on the inside with anger. She was angry that Tess wasn't okay. She was angry that the monster who had done this hadn't been caught still. She was angry that Lena had been dragged into it all and now she was angry that she'd probably just pushed Lena away completely. She'd been trying to do as Alex had said and not use her powers to run away. But she didn't deal with problems like this, and now she'd ruined everything with Lena before they'd even started. It was like Tess was trying to signal to her that she was an idiot. But it was too late, she'd screwed up badly and this brought her crashing back down into reality.

* * *

Lena paused outside her apartment door, taking a deep breath before unlocking the door and stepping inside. She froze, expecting to still see the floor stained with blood. Instead her apartment suddenly felt sterile. Too perfect. It was like all evidence that anything had happened had been scrubbed away. It felt wrong. It didn't feel like home anymore. Lena caught sight of herself in the reflection of her stainless steel fridge. She hardly recognised herself. All her injuries were superficial, and after a few dozen stitches later along with fluids to treat her dehydration and some painkillers she was set. She stood, looking at her reflection, looking at the dark bruise covering the side of her face. The media were already having a field day with speculation surrounding her short disappearance and leaked photos of her leaving National City Private covered in bruises. Even with all that going on, Kara was clouding most of her mind. She had no clue what had happened earlier. It was too much and Lena pulled her phone out, dialing her assistant Jess. She waited for Jess to answer before speaking, "I need a new apartment."  
" _A new apartment Miss Luthor?"  
_ "Yes. Within the next few days would be preferable. I'll be staying at a hotel until then." Lena exited her apartment, not giving the door another glance.

* * *

It was days later, almost a week exactly before Kara couldn't take it anymore. Tess had been improving steadily, she'd had the drain coming out of her chest removed, leaving another dressing near her surgical incision. But apart from that she was still intubated, sedated and had a multitude of tubes and wires connected. They slowly been trying to wean her off and there was talk of her being extubated but they still didn't know when. Kara hadn't heard anything from Lena since their fight, apart from watching the various news stories about her. The media was in a frenzy, speculating about what had happened to Lena and Kara knew it would be negatively impacting her. Every now and again she'd had to leave to perform Supergirl duties, or go home and freshen up, but the majority of her time was still being spent with Alex at Tess' bedside. Just waiting for something. But this fight with Lena was eating her up from the inside and she needed to make things right. She shifted from the uncomfortable chair, standing up and kissing Tess on the forehead, "I have to go do something Alex."  
Alex nodded blearily, "I'll text you if something happens."  
Kara came over, kissing Alex's head, "Love you."  
Alex forced a smile, too tired to ask Kara where she was going, "Love you too."

* * *

"Kara." Lena opened her apartment door, pulling her mouth into a tight smile as she inspected the woman in front of her. Kara looked like she hadn't slept in days. But there was something else in her eyes and Lena was worried about what it might be, "Is Tess okay?"  
Kara froze in the doorway, "She's…the same I guess. I thought the hospital would be updating you?"  
Lena shook her head, "Just because I'm paying doesn't mean they're telling me anything. It's confidential Kara."  
Kara frowned, "Sorry I thought…I would have texted you if I'd known that."  
Lena sighed, "It's fine, now I know. Are you coming in?"  
Kara looked into Lena's apartment before regretfully looking at Lena, "Can I?"  
Lena nodded, motioning for Kara to come in, "Of course."  
"They said you weren't at work. I assumed you would be at your apartment. And then I found out you moved here…" Kara trailed off, taking in Lena's new apartment.  
"I don't exactly want to go to work with a purple face Kara." Lena gestured to the slowly fading bruise that covered her right cheek.  
Kara looked sadly at Lena's bruised face, once again feeling responsible. It took her a moment but she forced herself to not dwell on it, she knew Lena would hate it. "But a new apartment?" Kara looked around, taking in the entire brand new furniture filling the new apartment.  
"I didn't want to fall asleep by myself in my old one anymore. It was easier to move." Lena shrugged, going over to her kitchen and pouring Kara a drink of water.

Kara rested her hands on the other side of the kitchen bench, "You could have told me. You could have stayed at mine."  
Lena handed Kara her glass, pursing her lips as she stared into Kara's blue eyes, "If I recall correctly, one of the last things you said to me was that you made a mistake in kissing me. So I assumed you didn't want to see me."  
"I didn't mean it like that…" Kara's forehead crinkled as she looked earnestly at Lena, "I wasn't in a good headspace that day with everything going on with Tess. I was an idiot to think that we should have that conversation then. I just…you were on drugs when we…" Kara trailed off, almost embarrassed to say it.  
Lena swallowed the sip of her drink, raising an eyebrow, "Kissed?"  
Kara pursed her lips, avoiding Lena's gaze, "Yeah that…when we _kissed_ I-…I felt like I was taking advantage of the situation."  
Lena scoffed, "I don't know whether to be offended that you think I can't handle the influence of strong pain relief or to feel touched that you were worried you were taking advantage of me."  
"I just…I just hope I didn't completely ruin our friendship Lena." Kara looked down again at her glass, fidgeting nervously.

"Is that what you want?" Lena waited for Kara to look back up.  
"Is what?" Kara searched Lena's green orbs but she found it impossible to read Lena's current expression.  
"Do you want to just be friends?" Lena asked, her expression neutral as she looked at Kara, her eyes briefly glancing at Kara's lips.  
"I…" Kara didn't even know what to say, she thought she wanted Lena, but she also thought she'd wanted James and even briefly Mon-El, but they all worked better as friends. Now she'd felt like she'd stuffed up even being friends with Lena.  
Lena stepped round to Kara's side of the kitchen, taking Kara's glass out of her hands and setting it on the bench, before reaching up and slowly removing Kara's glasses, "You really don't need to worry about wearing these anymore."  
Kara opened her mouth to protest but was cut off by Lena's lips taking her own in a gentle kiss.  
"I promise I'm not on drugs this time." Lena murmured against her, wrapping her hands behind Kara's neck.  
Kara was lost for words, her mind unable to direct any meaningful words out of her mouth while she was this close to Lena.  
"Do you want this?" Lena whispered, looking into Kara's eyes.

Kara's pause went on so long Lena had decided it was a no, shifting to remove her hands from behind Kara's neck, but before she could move another inch Kara's hands were wrapped around her. One wrapped around Lena's waist and the other moving to cradle the back of her neck, pulling her back into a kiss.  
Lena moved with Kara, her fingers sliding through Kara's hair as she returned the kiss, barely containing a low groan as Kara's lips moved against hers.  
Kara lifted Lena into the air easily, sighing into Lena's lips as Lena's legs wrapped around her waist. She carried her over to the sofa, laying the CEO gently down underneath her before her hands moved to rest either side of Lena's head. She broke off the kiss, more to breathe than anything else, breathing heavily as she looked down at Lena.  
Lena was breathing heavily herself, looking up at Kara, a smirk on her face, "Is that a yes?"  
"Shut up." Kara muttered before smashing her lips back against Lena's.

Kara recognised in the corner of her mind that things were immediately moving too fast. But Lena's hands were under her shirt, slowly inching it up as her fingers traced over Kara's toned abs. They'd gone from being best friends, to maybe more than friends, to not speaking to each other, to friends again and now they were at a definite more than friends. Kara's hands were just pulling Lena's tucked in shirt from her pants when her phone started ringing. If circumstances weren't at play she honestly would have left it, but with Tess in hospital still she couldn't ignore it. She heard the smallest of whimpers leave Lena's throat as she pulled away from their kissing and Lena's hands slipped from under her shirt. She reached over with one hand to pick up the phone, the other still firmly placed next to Lena's head. It was Alex and she quickly answered the phone, glancing down at Lena laying beneath her, "Alex?"  
" _They're going to wake her up Kara!"_

Kara's concerned expression turned into a barely contained smile as she met Lena's curious gaze, "I'll be there in ten." Kara hung up, grinning down at Lena, "They're going to wake Tess up."  
Lena reached up, cupping Kara's chin in her hands and running her thumb over Kara's cheek as she smiled up at her, "That's great Kara!"  
Kara lowered her face to give Lena a gentle kiss, "Do you want to come?"  
Lena looked over Kara's face that was mere inches away from her own still, "I'm not sure that's a good idea…"  
"Tess will want to know you're okay." Kara looked pleadingly at Lena.  
"With everything going on I'm not sure it's a good idea Kara." Lena averted her gaze from Kara's eyes, instead choosing to focus on Kara's lips instead and how close they still were to her own.  
"Screw everything and everyone else. Please Lena?"  
Lena slowly nodded, biting her bottom lip as she dragged her eyes back up to Kara's, "Alright."

* * *

The next time she woke up she was hesitant to move, this time her head wasn't pounding as much, but she was still concerned it would appear once she moved. This time she was very slow in opening her eyes, adjusting to the light as she slowly opened them. This time the sounds around her weren't too bad, she actually felt like she could deal with everything now. She felt a hand gently squeeze her own and she instinctively retracted her hand without thinking much. But then she felt like she couldn't breathe again and she felt herself start to panic.  
"Tess?"  
Tess finally was able to take in the environment, her face meeting Alex's concerned expression. She went to speak but then realised there was something in her throat. Her hands snapped up, trying to grab at whatever was stopping her from talking.  
Alex grabbed hold of her hands, holding them down, "Tess hey. Hey just focus on me okay. You've got a tube down your throat to help you breathe but the nurses are going to take it out."  
Tess noticed the flurry of movement that was occurring on her other side before she felt something being placed under her nose, an uncomfortable flow of air causing irritation and rubbing against something else that was in her nose.  
Alex held her hands in one of her own, reaching up to brush hair out of Tess' eyes and rest her hand on her cheek, "Don't worry it's just to help you get enough oxygen when the tube comes out. Just look at me okay."  
Tess felt an uncomfortable scratching in her throat as the nurses moved, they were talking to her but she was only focusing on Alex. She felt ties of some kind being taken off her cheeks and then something was gently thrust into her throat, a gargling noise reverberating through her skull.  
Alex briefly watched the nurses before meeting Tess' eyes again, "Alright they're going to take it out now. It's going to make you cough a bit." Alex was still holding Tess' hands in one of her own as she pulled a pillow up, "Hug this to your chest okay? It'll hurt less."

Tess felt Alex's hands let go of hers and she did as Alex said, pulling the pillow to her chest. There was a countdown by the nurses and then Tess was coughing and spluttering as the tube was pulled from her throat. Her knuckles turned white as she held the pillow tight, pain shooting through her chest. She was gasping for air as she tried to suck in deep breaths.  
Alex's expression changed in an instant, transforming into a big smile, "Hey, you're awake, for real this time."  
The nurses bustled around Tess and Alex for a few minutes, looking at the monitors and telling her to take deep breaths.  
Tess blinked a few times, looking around as she took a difficult deep breath, trying to speak.  
"Just give it a minute for your voice to come back. It's going to feel weird okay." Alex placed one hand on Tess' thigh and the other came back up to her face, her thumb grazing over Tess' cheek.  
Tess took some more deep breaths, swallowing heavily trying to moisten her dry throat and lips before she finally managed to speak, her voice incredibly hoarse, "H-hey."  
"That's it. You're doing great Tess." Alex was beaming at this stage.  
Tess' eyes darted around the room, looking disorientated, "Where…am I? Where's Kara?"

"You're in National City private hospital. Kara had to go run an errand."  
Tess nodded before raising an eyebrow at Alex, "Private? I thought you said healthcare was expensive?"  
"Lena has been kind enough to pay for your hospital expenses."  
Tess' eyes widened as her memory sparked, "Is Lena okay?"  
Alex nodded, "She's fine, she was only in hospital overnight."  
"How…how long?" Tess felt stiff and sore, like she hadn't moved for days and as she slowly looked down at herself she felt and looked weaker and smaller than she remembered.  
"You've been in hospital for a little over a week so far." Alex looked a little sad as she slowly moved to give Tess a kiss on the forehead.  
Tess frowned, "A…week?"  
"Your…your powers are gone Tess." Alex spoke carefully, watching Tess for a reaction.  
"That's why I'm so sore…but I-" Tess choked on her last words.  
"It's okay Tess. We'll get through this." Alex squeezed Tess' hand to reassure her.  
"My powers are gone…and I killed my family."

Tess' expression went from confusion to a mixture of sadness, horror and anger. "I killed my family, Alex!"  
Alex quickly cupped Tess' face in her hands, "It wasn't your fault, Tess."  
Tess looked at Alex horrified, "It was all my fault! I killed them! Alex I killed them all!"  
Alex's head shot to the doorway, concerned that the nurses would hear Tess but they were currently distracted talking to the doctors, "Tess it wasn't your fault. You aren't to blame, okay?"  
Tess grabbed Alex's hands on her face, pulling them away, "It was, I'm a monster, I should have stopped it. I should have just died and then they wouldn't have died! They could have been alive still, my little brother could be at school learning about all the things he should have learnt! He shouldn't be dead Alex! He was six, he deserved to live and I killed him!" Tess' monitors started to screech as her heart rate shot through the roof, jumping from 80 to 160.

Outside, Lena and Kara stood in the elevator, punching the button for the 3rd floor. Lena sighed, leaning over and giving Kara a kiss on the cheek, "Hopefully everything went well."  
Kara hummed in agreement, "I hope so. She nearly woke up the other day after our…disagreement. It wasn't great."  
"But this is planned." Lena smiled at Kara, "Everything will be okay."  
"Will it?" Kara sighed as their elevator doors parted and they both exited, turning right into intensive care and being buzzed inside. Their hearts both sank as they saw nurses rushing outside of Tess' room. Glancing at each other briefly, Kara and Lena both rushed over, they could clearly hear Tess yelling loudly, with Alex interjecting whenever possible. The nurses let them go through as they recognised them and they were greeted with Alex and a nurse holding their arms up defensively. The nurse in question had a syringe of what Lena assumed was a sedative in her hand, Alex was closer, with Tess directing a verbal assault in her direction.  
"Don't let her touch me Alex!" Tess' face was enraged, pointing her finger at the nurse behind Alex.  
Lena and Kara rushed next to Alex, Kara speaking first, "Tess! What are you doing?"  
Tess' anger faltered for a second as she saw them, she dropped her arm but she still was frowning, "Good, you can tell them! Tell them I'm a monster Lena!"  
"I'm sorry what? Tess, you're not a monster." Lena shook her head vigorously.  
"You're a liar then! I am! You saw what I did! I killed them all, they're dead because of me!"  
"Tess! You're not a monster, no one thinks that! No matter what happened you're still you, and the Tess I know isn't a monster." Kara pleaded with Tess to calm down.  
Tess shook her head, "You're all liars! You know I am!" Tess dissolved into sobs that racked her body, pushing her hands into her eyes.

The nurse holding the syringe stepped forward, placing a hand on Tess' leg in an attempt to be comforting.  
Tess snapped at her, "Get away from me!  
The nurse removed her hand and nodded to the other nurses that were near the doorway, causing three others to walk in.  
Kara put her hands up, stepping in front of them, "Whoa stop. Let us see if we can handle this before you try and do that."  
The nurses paused, letting Kara try, "Tess, none of us think you are a monster, please can we just talk to you. We don't want the nurses to have to hold you down and sedate you."  
Tess looked up at Kara, shaking her head, "I am a monster."  
Lena swallowed the lump in her throat before stepping forward, placing a hand on Tess' knee, "Tess, can't we just talk before we make our minds up about anything?"  
Tess jerked her knee at the touch, but let Lena rest her hand there, "Lena you know I'm telling the truth."  
Lena just shrugged, moving her hand a bit further up so it was sitting just above Tess' knee on her thigh, "I was there yes. But we haven't had a chance to discuss anything yet have we?"  
Tess simply stared at Lena's hand, her breathing still jagged as she tried to keep her sobs in check.  
Kara and Alex watched on, their hearts in their throats, hoping Lena could get through to Tess.

"Why don't we just have a talk, Tess? What do you think about that? Would that be alright?" Lena tilted her head slightly so that Tess could still see her even with the girl staring at her hand.  
Slowly Tess nodded, taking a deep breath, "We can talk."  
"That would be-" Kara was cut off by Lena.  
"I think just us two should talk for the moment Kara. If you don't mind?" Lena gave Kara and Alex a small smile.  
Tess just looked at them both, waiting for them to agree.  
Kara and Alex both looked at each other before Kara just sighed, "Alright. We'll let you talk."  
Kara and Alex left the room, talking to the nurses about Tess' current progress, leaving Lena alone with Tess. Lena walked over and closed the curtains before turning back to look at Tess.  
Currently Tess had turned to look out the window, her hands clutching at her hospital gown bunched around her stomach tightly.  
Lena slowly walked closer, moving so that she could sit on the edge of the bed, "Is it alright if I sit here?"  
Tess glanced briefly at Lena, her eyes flicking over Lena's face and then how close the woman was to her, "It's fine."  
"It's a pretty nice view from here isn't it?" Lena followed Tess' gaze, looking out at the hospital garden with National City in the background.  
"It's nice enough. But everyone's so…happy."  
Lena noticed a few families down in the hospital garden, along with a few couples and a few individuals, "It's a nice day outside. So they should be."  
"How can they be happy when they're so close to me?" Tess stared at Lena, a mixture of anger and confusion causing her to frown deeply.

Lena took a deep breath, slowly placing a hand on Tess' cheek, silently grateful that the girl didn't jerk away, "Because you're not a monster Tess."  
Tess started to sob again, "How am I not, Lena? So much pain and suffering has happened because of me. I don't deserve to be here. People should hate me. I mean look at you. You're hurt because of me."  
Lena pulled Tess into a hug gently, mindful of the girl's injuries and the various tubes and wires attached to her, "You have not caused any pain or suffering of your own free will. You don't have to carry any blame for something you didn't want to do. You saved my life. You've saved numerous other people as well. All you've ever done is save people here."  
Tess cried into Lena's collar, her head firmly tucked into Lena's neck.

Lena let Tess cry for a few minutes before she pulled away, "I really think we should let Kara and Alex come back in now."  
"What if they don't love me anymore once I tell them?" Tess quietly asked.  
Lena looked sadly at Tess, wiping the tears off her cheeks with her thumbs, "They know what happened. All they want is for you to be okay. They've missed you like crazy and they love you no matter what." Lena gave Tess a reassuring smile.  
"Okay." Tess nodded and looked nervously at the door.  
Lena pulled away, walking over to the curtains stepping outside and for a brief minute or two Tess thought no one was coming back inside. But then Kara and Alex came in, Lena close behind.  
Kara looked at Tess apprehensively, shuffling forward, "Hey…"  
Tess appeared like she was about to burst into tears again, "Do you still love me?"  
Kara couldn't stop herself from closing the distance between herself and Tess. She immediately sat on the edge of the bed, holding her arms out for a hug, "I said no takebacks. Ever."  
Tess moved as quickly as she could and positioned herself in Kara's arms, her head resting on Kara's chest as she wrapped her arms around her.  
Kara closed her eyes tightly, burying her face in Tess' hair and kissing her head, her hand resting on the back of Tess' head and the other wrapped gently around her waist, "I've missed you so much."  
Tess ignored all the tubes and wires she felt puling on her skin in places and stayed still, feeling safe and secure in Kara's arms.

Alex slowly moved forward, sitting next to Kara on the edge of bed and joining the hug, trapping Tess between herself and Kara, "We're always going to love you Tess. Always."  
Tess felt overwhelmed, "Even though I..I…"  
"Of course." Alex cut off Tess before she could finish.  
Kara took a deep breath, opening her eyes again and spying Lena standing awkwardly a few feet away still, "Get over here."  
Lena frowned, "Kara I don't think I'm going to fit."  
Kara glared at Lena, shuffling over closer to Alex, "You'll fit."  
Lena's heart swelled at the small gesture, carefully making her way over and slotting herself into the space, cringing as she heard the bed creak, "I'm not sure the bed is liking this."  
"Shut up Lena. Come here." Alex stretched her arm round so that she could wrap her arms around them all, it was a big stretch but she managed it.  
Lena pressed herself up tightly against Kara, wrapping her arms around the group as well, pushing her face into the space between Kara's neck and shoulder to hide her tears.  
Truth be told, all four of them were crying and trying to hide it from each other.

They all stayed there for a few moments but then Tess started to shift as an ache started to spread across her torso. A dull ache spread across her abdomen and a tight pain spread from the middle of her chest and round under left armpit. She tried to ignore it, shifting slightly, but that was when she caught sight of her reflection in Kara's phone that had fallen next to her leg. She could barely recognise herself. She looked small and weak. She looked like the other Tess. She pulled away, trying to take a deep breath as she started to panic, her mind racing as she remembered the last time she'd seen the other Tess. She was suddenly acutely aware of everything attached to her and the tightness in her chest. Her back met Alex again, sending a shock of pain through her chest again. She felt like she was being suffocated and everything was irritating her. The nasal prongs in her nose were blowing cold, dry air into her nose and it already felt raw. The tube taped to her nose and cheek that also fed into her nose and down to her stomach was tickling in the back of her throat. The dressing and tubes attached to her neck were pulling and the wires feeding out of her gown were itchy. The tube in her wrist was looped up between her thumb and her fingers and was itching as well. It was completely overwhelming and the monitors near her head were starting to alarm.

The nurse who had been sitting outside watching the interaction between the group came inside, politely asking Kara, Lena and Alex to leave the room. Tess couldn't focus on what was being said, she just felt the bed shift around her as Alex and Lena moved away. She sunk into the bed, as Kara stayed where she was, refusing to leave. Tess could see the nurse bustling to her side, pulling on gloves as she drew up a medication.  
Tess tried to pull off her oxygen but Kara's hands caught her own. She started to fight back only to realise that she had no strength to make Kara budge an inch.  
Kara shifted closer, moving so that Tess was looking at her instead of the nurse, "Tess hey let's just calm down again okay. Everything's fine. I've got you."  
Tess stared wide-eyed at Kara, looking overwhelmed and terrified as she struggled to catch her breath. Every time she tried to take a deep breath it caught in her chest as pain shot through her. She could feel the nurse fiddling with the line in her neck and she tried to look again.  
Kara moved, lying down beside Tess, "Look at me okay? I'm here."  
Tess nodded ever so slightly, the pain in her body already starting to dull as she felt herself drifting back to sleep.

* * *

Lena and Alex watched from outside. Alex's arms tightly folded across her chest as she stood silently next to Lena.  
Lena felt an all too familiar ache in her chest as she watched Kara comfort Tess.  
Alex finally opened her mouth to speak, still not looking at Lena, "I guess you two are talking to each other again?"  
Lena frowned, looking across at Alex, "What do you mean?"  
"When Kara came back from talking to you the first night she was a mess. She told me everything you said and she got so upset and angry. She was really worried about you. Then the next day after she went to see you she got really quiet. I asked her about you a few times and she brushed it off entirely or ignored me. But then now you two showed up together and you were very close to each other just before. Looked a bit more than friends to me. Did she tell you?" Alex was still watching Kara and Tess, ignoring Lena's confused reaction."Tell me what?" Lena feigned ignorance.  
"How she feels." Alex sighed as she finally tilted her head round to look at Lena.  
Lena nearly choked on air as she stared at Alex, "I don't know what you're on about."  
Alex narrowed her eyes, "I don't have an issue with it Lena. I do have an issue with my sister getting hurt. With Tess right now Kara won't admit it but she's vulnerable." Alex lowered her voice to a whisper, "So if you steal her heart when she's vulnerable and her time isn't completely taken by being Supergirl…"  
Lena pursed her lips, "I'll answer to you?"  
Alex nodded, "I don't care that you're a Luthor. If you hurt her in any way, be it her heart or her trust. You'll answer to me. Is that clear?"  
Lena nodded slowly, looking back at Kara, "Perfectly clear."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed finally getting some more supercorp! Hit me up on tumblr - onceuponasuperfanfic


	15. Chapter 15 - Crying Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...this was not supposed to take this long at all to post. As I think I mentioned on my last chapter that was posted over a month ago (!) I was starting a new job and all that which was exciting but also incredibly terrifying! It also has proved to be incredibly demanding both physically and mentally and thus this story has unfortunately been on the back-burner for some time. I never forgot about it I promise, but unfortunately a lot of my usual times when I would be writing late into the night were instead spent at work or needing to sleep before waking up ridiculously early for my shifts. That's enough excuses though, I hope you'll all forgive me. This chapter is just angst central but I hope it is somewhat enjoyable and cohesive to read. Thanks for all your continuing support - you guys are the best!
> 
> Content warning: Strong coarse language, mentions of suicide/self-harm

Kara and Alex sat quietly next to Tess' bed. Both of them texting Lena and Maggie respectively as Tess sat up in bed. Tess was silently watching the tv hanging from the ceiling, occasionally glancing at the monitors she was connected to and at Kara and Alex. It had been almost 24 hours now since she'd been extubated and she no longer had a feeding tube or nasal prongs delivering oxygen. All things considered she was recovering remarkably well. The only issue she was experiencing was severe aching pain in her chest and shoulder. The pain relief she was on was barely keeping it at bay and every breath she took was difficult. The doctors and nurses had insisted she needed to do deep breathing and coughing exercises to ensure she didn't get a chest infection but it was easier said than done. The idea that she was sitting in a hospital bed - and had been for more than a week - was a foreign concept. Everything felt surreal. Of course she'd been hurt numerous times before, and probably worse. But none of those injuries had lasted for more than a day, this was a whole new experience and one she didn't want to be living.

"You don't have to stay you know..." Tess looked over at Kara and Alex.  
Kara's forehead crinkled in confusion, "Of course we do."  
"I'm not that important."  
"Tess we've had this conversation before. You are important to us and that hasn't changed." Alex put her phone back into her pocket, straightening herself in the chair.  
"Things were different then. Seriously look at me." Tess angrily looked down at herself, "My powers are gone, probably forever and I can't even get out of bed let alone breathe properly without being in pain! I'm not worth wasting time on anymore! You've both done your good deeds but you can stop pretending to actually care about me now."  
"Tess stop none of that matters! We both love you and that's not a lie. Why would we lie about that?" Kara reached forward, placing a hand on Tess' leg.  
Tess rolled her eyes as she started to raise her voice, "I don't know. Maybe that's what people on this earth do! I'm not from here remember? That other Tess that I _killed_ is from here! The one that had a family and a whole life ahead of her! I'm the fucking broken reject version! I don't deserve to be here I shouldn't even fucking be _alive_!" Tess hissed in pain, her hand flying to her side as she tried to take a deep breath to ease the pain.  
Alex came closer, "Tess you don't mean that. The medications you're on are just playing with your head okay? You're not broken and you deserve to be here!"  
Tess stared defiantly at Alex, her voice quieter again, "And what if it's not the medications Alex? What if I'm really just that fucked up? Powers or no powers, I don't belong here. I never have and I never will."  
"Shut up."

Tess' eyes snapped to Kara's, being met with a furious expression, "What?..."  
Kara's felt her heart pounding in her chest as she glared at Tess, "I said shut up. You don't get to almost die on me and then survive and do this! When we found you in that place covered in blood, unconscious and barely alive I was terrified Tess! We both were! I- I thought we were going to lose you." Kara's voice cracked ever so slightly but she steeled herself, strength coming back into her words. "Don't you dare sit here and say that we don't care, or that you shouldn't be alive, or that you don't belong here! I will say this over and over until you understand Tess that you are part of this family now. I get that your life hasn't been a walk in the park but neither has mine! And sometimes the only person who could help me out of that spiral was Alex! Her and I aren't related by blood but we are family. We love each other and even with our differences we are still family. Family isn't always about blood Tess, hell, its not even always about being from the same planet or earth or whatever! It's about being there for each other. So you can yell and scream at us, tell us to leave, whatever. But you do _not_ get to throw away the chance you've been given. You don't get to pretend that you don't matter and that the world would be a better place without you. That's not how it works, and I will tell you that every hour of every day if that's what it takes. But I am not leaving and neither is Alex. You matter to us and whether you like it or not you do belong here. You wouldn't be here if you didn't. So just...shut up. Just get better and then you can come home."

There was a heavy silence in the room for a few moments before Alex broke it, "I'm with Kara. All the way. This is what family does. We stick together no matter how hard it gets. We're not going anywhere."  
Tess had settled into a sort of stunned silence, slowly looking between them both. She gave a nearly imperceptible single nod of her head before she looked back down at her hands. Kara's hand settled on top of her own and Alex's hand settled on her knee under the sheet. Tess remained motionless, gazing silently at her sheets for a few minutes before she ever so slightly curled her fingers around Kara's, giving the tiniest squeeze.

* * *

A day later Tess was finally transferred from intensive care to a general ward. Whilst finally a positive step, it was one everyone was secretly dreading. Tess had spent the better part of a week not even breathing for herself, let alone getting herself up and walking. The number of tubes and wires connected to her were almost zero, with a single drip sitting in her hand the only connection left. She was still on strong painkillers but the number had decreased ever so slightly and they were giving her tablets in combination with infusions through her drip. Things were finally coming together and getting better. Tess was interrupted by a physiotherapist and a nurse appearing at her door. Alex had left to go home for a few hours to freshen up and Kara was still by her side.

The physio came to the bedside, introducing himself as the nurse moved around the bedside, pausing her drip and disconnecting from her arm.  
"Alright Tess. We're going to get you up and walking today. Get those muscles working again and do some shoulder exercises too!" The physiotherapist explained.  
Tess must have looked a little terrified as she felt Kara's hand slip into her own and give it a squeeze as the physiotherapist tried to reassure her.  
He'd brought a walking frame and was setting it up by the bed.  
Tess frowned, glaring at the equipment, "I don't need that. I'll be fine."  
The physio raised an eyebrow, "You haven't been out of bed yet, I think we should start with it and then work our way back to normal."  
Tess narrowed her eyes at the man, "I'll be fine."  
The physio sighed, looking at Kara for some support, "How about we just give it a go? If you don't need it I'll get rid of it."  
Kara moved round to the side of the bed the physio was on and stood on the other side of Tess, "I think we should give it a go Tess."  
Tess pulled back her sheets, swinging her legs off the bed and ignoring how exhausting and painful that one move had been. She was almost glaring holes in the floor as she stared down at it, trying to prepare herself for what was next.

It took a few moments but finally Tess shuffled herself forward enough to plant her feet on the ground. She placed her hands on the bed on either side of herself, pushing up as the physio and Kara helped her up. As soon as she was standing she felt almost out of breath already. But she was standing and that was a positive. With some encouragement she walked a few steps forward, the physio moving the walking frame out of the way as she ignored it and just held onto him and Kara.  
"You're doing really well Tess." The physio encouraged.  
"Can I just go for a walk with Kara? Please?" Tess was leaning more heavily on Kara as the physio was on her left side, the side she had surgery on and it was hurting to lean on him.  
The physio paused, looking at Kara, "She's doing really well. Do you think you can hold onto her?"  
Kara smiled, "I'm stronger than I look don't worry."  
Tess let out a chuckle, feeling safer as Kara's hand moved around her waist to support her. She moved her arm, resting her hand on Kara's back. If she was being she already felt wobbly and a little breathless, but she was determined to do this.  
The physio watched Kara and Tess walk without his assistance for a few steps, "Alright. I'll trail behind you two with the walking frame just in case. See how far you think you can walk."  
Kara nodded, adjusting her glasses with her free hand, "I've got you Tess."  
Tess bit her bottom lip, "Thanks Kara."  
"This is why I'm here." Kara slowly guided Tess out of her room for the first time, smiling as she realised the significance of this moment.

Tess kept her head held high as she pushed through her pain and exhaustion, slowly trekking down the ward corridor with Kara. Tess was trying to ignore the looks she was getting from nurses and doctors, all of them looked surprised but a lot were encouraging from the sidelines. They kept a steady pace, the physio being true to his word and trailing several metres behind. Eventually they paused in what seemed to be family waiting area overlooking one of the many courtyards the hospital had. They stopped near the window, Kara watching everyone below. Tess on the other hand was focused on her own reflection in the window.  
Kara eventually dragged her eyes up, refocusing them and meeting Tess' eyes in the reflection before she looked at Tess herself, "Hey, do you need to go back?"  
Tess shook her head, staring at her reflection with a sad look on her face, "I look tiny…"  
Kara frowned, "You've been in hospital for a week Tess…"  
Tess choked on the lump forming in her throat, "But I look tiny. I've never looked so small in my life. I'm like…like a kid."  
Kara pulled Tess tighter into her side, still being careful of being too rough as she placed a gentle kiss to her cheek, "You are a kid Tess. Maybe you can finally let yourself be one more than before?"  
Tess rested her head on Kara's shoulder, "I don't know how to be a kid Kara…"  
"Then let us help you be one."

Tess lost her concentration, dropping her arm from around Kara, which proved to be a horrible mistake as Kara did the same unintentionally. Tess didn't realise just how much support Kara had been giving her and before she knew it her knees were buckling under her.  
Kara moved at super-speed, not even caring that the physio was still hovering nearby, and caught Tess before she completely fell, but it was already too late.  
Tess cried out in pain at the jostling motion, clutching onto Kara tightly as the physio came running over to help. "Go away!" Tess yelled at the physio, ignoring the pain that shot through her as she shoved him away.  
"I've got this. Give us a few minutes." Kara gently lowered Tess to sit on the floor against the wall as she turned the physio away.  
The physio opened his mouth to argue but Kara cut him off with a look.  
Kara knelt down in front of Tess, "I'm sorry that was all my fault."  
Tess had tears of pain rolling down her cheeks as she gritted her teeth, "It wasn't."  
"No it was totally me-"  
"No it wasn't! You're so fucking perfect Kara of course it wasn't!" Tess yelled.  
Kara was taken aback for a second before she cupped Tess' face in her hands, "Tess let's not do this here. Let's just give it a few minutes and then we'll get you back up again."  
Tess pulled Kara's hands off her face, "Just stop Kara! Stop being so nice!"  
Kara dropped her hands to her sides, "Tess I'm not going to do that."  
"Yeah I know because you're fucking _Supergirl_." Tess hissed under her breath, "You're so perfect and powerful and your life isn't a complete mess! I've lost everything Kara! My whole childhood! My whole family! Twice! Now I don't even have my powers anymore and I can't even walk a few metres without being in pain or out of breath! I've lost everything!"  
"I know. I know it hurts but you can get through this. _We_ can get through this together." Kara pushed.  
"Your life is perfect Kara! What do _you_ know about loss?"

Tess instantly regretted the words as soon as they left her lips, but it was too late to take it back now.  
Kara recoiled, her expression changing from concern to fury, "What do _I_ know about _loss?"_  
Tess clenched her jaw shut, breathing heavily, "You heard me."  
Kara got to her feet, her hands balled into fists at her sides. She shook her head, "You've crossed the line Tess."  
Tess watched as Kara walked away, leaving her propped against the wall. Fresh tears started to leak from her eyes but this wasn't from pain, even if she was still in agony. She was furious at herself, it wasn't fair for her to take it out on Kara but she couldn't stop herself. Now she'd probably pushed away one of the only people left who loved her. Kara had never walked away from her before. She'd been a complete asshole several times over on different occasions. But Kara didn't ever walk away. Not until now.

* * *

Tess was on the floor for what felt like an eternity before she heard footsteps. She was staring at the floor, trying to wipe the tears off her face before two pairs of feet appeared in her vision, "I'm fine…" Tess muttered.  
"You don't look like you're fine."  
Tess looked up, seeing Alex and Maggie standing above her, "Oh…it's you two."  
Alex knelt down, brushing Tess' hair out of her face, "Where's Kara?"  
Tess shook her head, "She left."  
Alex frowned, "What did you do?"  
Tess averted her gaze, not wanting to admit to being a complete bitch.  
Alex sighed, "Maggie I've got to go find Kara. You stay here with Tess."  
Maggie nodded, moving to sit next to Tess as Alex got back up and pulled out her phone to ring Kara as she walked away.

Tess and Maggie sat in silence for a few minutes before Maggie finally spoke up, "I'm sorry Tess."  
Tess frowned, turning her head to look at Maggie next to her, "Sorry for what?"  
"I'm sorry that this happened to you. I feel like it's my fault that we didn't realise in time before…you know."  
Tess paused, "It's not your fault. I mean it's not going to happen again is it? He's gone right?"  
"That was actually what Alex and I came to talk to you about. The…person that kidnapped you and Lena. We haven't found him yet." Maggie reluctantly admitted.  
Tess stiffened, " _What?"_  
"We're working on it I promise. We're following up every lead we have. Lena's finally given us a proper statement and we're tracking down everyone remotely matching his description."  
Tess' mind flashed to Marcus' sneering face, every hit he had landed on her body and every time he had carved another scar into her body. Her earth might have been shit but he was the reason for not just her physical scars but her mental scars too. The idea that he was roaming free was terrifying.  
Maggie put her arm around Tess, "We'll find him. I promise."  
Tess gulped down air, trying to stay calm, "What if he finds me first?"  
"He won't."

* * *

Alex rounded the corner into Tess' room, hoping she would find Kara inside.  
Kara was sitting in one of the chairs next to the bed, staring at the ruffled sheets with tears streaking down her cheeks.  
Alex's expression softened instantly as her eyes landed on Kara and she swiftly closed the distance between them, engulfing Kara in a hug, "Hey! I'm here. What happened?"  
Kara instantly wrapped her arms around Alex tightly, "I don't know if I can do this Alex!"  
"Talk to me Kara. What's going on?"  
"She started yelling again…" Kara started to explain.  
"That didn't upset you so much last time. What did she say?" Alex pulled away so that she could look at Kara properly.  
Kara inhaled deeply, "She was yelling about how she'd lost everything. And then…she was yelling at me because my life is perfect and what would _I_ know about loss…"  
Alex's face fell, "Oh Kara."  
Kara shook her head, trying to brush Alex off, "I shouldn't have taken it so harshly. She's allowed to be angry-"

"No." Alex cut Kara off, "She can be angry. I'll give her that much. She can yell and scream at us as much as she wants. But she does _not_ get to launch personal attacks at you or me or anyone else for that matter. That's not okay."  
Kara reluctantly nodded, "Okay…"  
"Kara? Please sound more committed to that." Alex pushed, giving Kara a pointed look.  
Kara sighed, "Okay. It wasn't alright."  
Alex gave a faint smile, "That's better."  
Kara smiled ever so slightly before averting her gaze, "I shouldn't have left her. I should go get her."  
"Maggie is with her. It's alright. I think you should take a break. At least until tomorrow."  
"Tomorrow? Alex I can't just leave-" Kara started to argue.  
Alex was content in interrupting Kara again, "Come back tomorrow. I've got this. Go spend some time with Lena."  
Kara suddenly blushed, her cheeks turning pink, "Why Lena?"  
Alex rolled her eyes, "You already admitted you loved her Kara. I can see that you two have finally admitted it to each other too."  
Kara blushed harder, "Is that okay?"  
Alex couldn't help but laugh, "Of course it is. I just want you to be happy." Alex leaned forward and placed a kiss on Kara's forehead, "If Lena makes you happy then that's good enough for me."  
Kara finally broke into a genuine smile, "I love you."  
"I love you too. Now go." Alex dragged Kara to the door, shoving her out, "Go out the back way. The city has been missing Supergirl."  
Kara grinned and nodded, "So have I."

* * *

Kara had spent an hour or so sweeping the city and stopping miscellaneous crimes as Supergirl, relishing in the freedom she felt flying high above the city. Eventually she landed, just outside Lena's new apartment building, changing into her civilian clothes before pulling out her phone. She texted Lena, nervously bouncing from foot to foot as she waited for a reply. Lena didn't keep her waiting long luckily, a message lighting up her phone screen and causing a smile to cross her face. Before she knew it she was rushing through the lobby of the building, all but running past security as she made her way up to the penthouse that was Lena's new apartment. She stood outside the door, taking a deep breath before lifting her hand to knock on the door. The deep breath wasn't enough to stop her from losing her breath as Lena greeted her.

Lena was standing there in form-fitting black pants, with an off the shoulder dark maroon top, "You got here fast." Lena smirked, her hands folded over her chest.  
Kara recomposed herself and brushed herself off, "Well when your girlfriend looks as good as you…"  
Lena's smirk grew into a smile, "Girlfriend?"  
"I know I haven't exactly asked you out yet but-"  
"Can I kiss my girlfriend then?" Lena cut Kara off, coming closer until the tip of her nose was hovering barely an inch from Kara's, "Before she does that cute thing where she rambles and she gets a little crinkle right _here_." Lena stood up on her tiptoes, kissing the beginning of Kara's crinkle.  
Kara almost started to argue but as soon as Lena's lips brushed her face she melted into it. She tipped her chin upwards, pulling away before reaching up to bring Lena's face close to her again, capturing her lips in a gentle kiss.  
Lena's arms wrapped around Kara's neck, pulling her back into her apartment as she deepened their kiss.  
Kara fumbled for the door, closing it roughly behind them before resting her hands on Lena's waist.  
They quickly made it to the couch, once again finding themselves in what felt to be an already familiar position, Lena laying underneath Kara on the sofa.

Kara was enjoying it, but a gently niggling in the back of her mind caused her to pull back, "Lena…"  
Lena dragged her eyes up from Kara's lips, meeting her eyes and just now realising the sadness behind them, "Are you okay Kara?"  
Kara slowly shook her head, "No."  
"Are we going too fast? Or something else?" Lena's eyes darted over Kara' face, trying to find any hint of rejection that might be present.  
"No. Rao no. I want this so badly Lena. I want you. I just…" Kara shrugged before leaning back in to kiss Lena.  
Lena stopped her, placing a finger on Kara's lips before they reached hers, "I want this too. But I don't want you to be distracted-" Lena lowered her voice to a whisper, "I want… _things_ …to be memorable."  
Kara blushed ever so slightly, realising the compromising position they were in before she sighed, "I'm sorry…"  
Lena's brow furrowed in concern, "Tell me what's on your mind."

Kara moved off of Lena, sitting on the remaining section of the couch and waiting for Lena to sit up next to her before she started, "Tess and I were arguing."  
"You've argued before. Remember that time in my office?" Lena raised an eyebrow, not understanding the weight of Kara's confession.  
Kara sighed again, "That was different. Tess was mad at me then. But it wasn't a big deal. Today was something else. We finally got her out of bed and everything was going so well. I was helping her walk and then we got complacent and she fell."  
"Did she hurt herself?"  
Kara looked over at Lena, her shoulders sagging as she thought back to the moment, "I don't think she can hurt herself anymore than she already has been. But it certainly didn't help."  
"Tess would know you didn't mean to hurt her Kara." Lena reached over, weaving her hand into Kara's and pulling it into her lap.  
"She threw it back in my face anyway. She started yelling at me – telling me my life is perfect and there was no way I knew about loss like she did…" Kara took off her glasses, setting them down on the coffee table before bringing her other hand to Lena's that was still holding her own. She gazed sadly into Lena's green eyes, her blue ones getting lost. "I feel like Supergirl embodies everything I want to be and I try too hard to make Kara Danvers perfect too. But the reality is I still think about Krypton everyday. I'm invulnerable and I can shoot fire from my eyes but inside I'm…damaged from my past. When Tess said that I didn't know anything about loss I just…snapped."

Lena smiled sadly at Kara, "I get it. We both lost something in our childhood. You know me well enough to know that I shove my feelings down into little boxes and throw them away. Maybe we're both damaged, but one things for sure Supergirl."  
"What's that?" Kara tentatively asked.  
Lena leaned forward, moving her hands up to cup Kara's face and giving her a quick gentle kiss, "I love Kara Danvers. Even if we haven't gone on a single date yet. Even if you're an alien that happens to be the unbelievably powerful last daughter of Krypton. Even though no one will ever be able to believe a Luthor and a Super could be friends, let alone more than that. Even if none of that was true I would still love you. Because you're an incredible reporter and an incredibly hot one at that. You make me laugh and so much more but I don't want to keep talking because I feel like I'm wasting every minute that I'm not kissing you."  
Kara's jaw dropped ever so slightly in shock before it turned to sheer adoration, her eyes filling with desire, "Then stop talking."  
Lena grinned, "Gladly."

* * *

"Kara doesn't deserve that Tess!"  
Tess stared up at the ceiling, Alex had been berating her for what felt like hours now. Herself and Maggie had sat against the wall for half an hour in silence before Alex had come back to collect them with a wheelchair for Tess. It had felt humiliating at the time but what was worse was the sheer disappointment and anger that had been present on Alex's face for the last hour. "I'm sorry Alex. I was being stupid."  
Alex stopped her pacing, putting her hands on her hips, "Oh you were? Stupid? That's putting it lightly!"  
Tess groaned, "What do you want me to say Alex? I've already apologised several times! I can't take back what I said!"  
Alex shifted her weight onto one foot, "You never do it again. That's what. I don't care if you're angry and upset. You have permission to be feeling all of those things but you don't get to put that on Kara! Or anyone else for that matter! We said the other day that you can yell and scream at us but you don't get to turn things into a personal attack. Hurting Kara isn't helping anything and it's not going to make you feel any better! Don't try it again or I will kick your ass. I can promise you that much. Is that understood?"  
Tess narrowed her eyes, "As if my ass isn't kicked enough already Alex."  
"Is that _understood?_ " Alex spoke through gritted teeth as she glared at Tess.  
Tess scrutinised Alex for a few seconds before realising it wasn't negotiable and she slowly nodded her head.  
"I didn't hear that." Alex folded her arms across her chest in disapproval.  
Tess sighed, "Understood."

Alex looked unconvinced, but she gave Tess a curt nod, "I'll try and see you tomorrow."  
Tess frowned, "Wait you're leaving? Is Kara coming back?"  
Alex shook her head, "She'll be back tomorrow."  
Tess suddenly looked panicked, "I'm going to be by myself?"  
Alex nodded, "Well there's plenty of nurses and doctors looking out for you, you'll be fine."  
"But what about Marcus?"  
Alex looked puzzled, "Who?"  
"The guy that…did this to me. Maggie said you guys haven't got him yet."  
Alex's tough demeanour suddenly disappeared as she came closer, "Marcus is his name? You knew him?"  
"He was my…" Tess started to open up before all her walls suddenly collapsed in on each other, "Don't leave me alone Alex. He'll find me."  
Alex shook her head vigorously, "He won't. Trust me okay?  
"But Alex-"  
"Trust me." Alex cut Tess off. "I've got to go. Like I said I'll try and get back tomorrow, but if not Kara will definitely come. Just be nice."  
"Alex _please_ don't leave me alone here." Tess looked pleadingly at Alex as she moved towards the door.  
"Tess I'm sorry I can't stay. I think maybe some time to yourself will be useful. Think about how you can apologise to Kara tomorrow. She needs to hear it from you, not me." Alex left, leaving Tess without so much as a proper goodbye or an 'I love you' or a kiss on the cheek.  
Tess stared at the door, feeling like she was right back at step one with Alex. Their relationship had finally shifted to what Tess felt was like Alex stepping into a big sister role like Kara. But maybe not anymore, it was probably just another thing Tess had screwed up.

* * *

Alex spied Maggie waiting down the corridor, breathing a deep sigh and running a hand through her hair as she came over.  
Maggie looked up from her phone and smiled at Alex, "Took you long enough Danvers. Don't think you yelled at her long enough?"  
Alex groaned, "Please don't Maggie."  
Maggie dropped her cockiness, "I'm kidding. You did the right thing."  
"Did I? Kara yelled at her and then walked out on her and I think I just did the same thing." Alex slumped against Maggie, burying her face in Maggie's neck.  
"She's a teenager. Tough love is necessary sometimes. I think it'll do her some good." Maggie wrapped her arms around Alex, placing a kiss to her head.  
"You're sure about that?" Alex muttered into Maggie's neck.  
Maggie shrugged, "I don't look after a teenager-"  
Alex whined and pulled away, "Maggie that's not helpful."  
"You didn't let me finish. Sure I don't look after a teenager, _but_ , I was a bit of a brat when I was a teenager and I benefitted from some tough love. There was a bit too much of it when I came out to my parents, before that though it was for good reason." Maggie finished.  
Alex sighed and slumped against Maggie once again, "Have I told you I love you?"  
Maggie laughed, "Not enough babe. Let's get out of here and maybe you can show me just how much you love me."  
"Is that a challenge Sawyer?"

* * *

Tess laid awake for hours, staring up at the ceiling. Alex had left hours ago and now it was almost two in the morning. Scenario's were running through her head at a rapid pace and she was grateful her heart was no longer being monitored, otherwise it would have been alarming like crazy as it pounded in her chest. Every now and again she was being checked on by the nurse looking after her but now she was started to lose it. She was feeling terrified, like at any moment something bad was going to happen. Eventually she couldn't take it anymore, she had no way of contacting Kara or Alex but she needed to apologise and she just needed both of them to hug her tightly and tell her everything was going to be okay. She swung her legs out of bed, grimacing as it caused pain once again. This time she was determined to ignore it. She looked down at her hand, ripping out the drip that was still inserted. She stood up, all but running to the wall to steady herself. She cracked open the door, peeking out into the dimly lit corridor and catching site of two nurses sitting in the nurses station filling out paperwork. Their heads were down and she took it as her opportunity. She leant against the wall, using it to support her as she set off down the corridor.

If she wasn't so distracted she would be proud of herself for pushing through the pain. Unfortunately the nurses became less distracted, one of them catching sight of Tess and quickly rushing to her side.  
Tess was trembling by this stage, brushing off the hands that wrapped around her, "Get off of me! I have to go! I need Kara and Alex! I have to know they're okay!"  
The nurse holding Tess called for an extra pair of hands, refusing to let go as Tess sunk to the ground in tears.  
"Please I have to know they're okay! He'll find them!" Tess yelled out, realising now that her hand was oozing blood all over herself and the nurses. They were talking calmly to her, trying to calm her down but she wasn't listening. Even though she felt weak she was trying to kick them off, fighting back against their grip. Soon enough they stopped trying, Tess felt them moving around her and eventually she felt a sharp sting. She knew what it was as she continued to cry and struggle. She just wanted Kara and Alex. Slowly the medication started to take effect, and soon enough, Tess felt herself succumbing to the unwelcome effects of the sedative, the world going black around her once again.

* * *

Kara's eyes opened slowly, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. She squinted her eyes and groaned as she moved and a beam of sunlight hit her in the face. Moving was what made her remember that she wasn't covered at all under the blankets, and also that there was an arm draped around her waist. She looked over and was reminded just how last night had gone, her cheeks turning pink at the memory.  
Lena was still peacefully asleep next to her, wearing just as little. One arm around Kara, the other tucked under her pillow.  
Kara smiled, taking in the moment, she could get used to this.  
Lena roused every so slightly, her eyes fluttering open and meeting Kara's before she closed them again and muttered, "Why are you staring at me?"  
"Sorry. You're just…really beautiful." Kara spoke quietly, tucking a strand of Lena's hair behind her ear.  
Lena shifted, pulling the sheets tighter around her, "It was memorable."  
Kara frowned, "What was- oh!" Kara blushed a deep shade of red, "It was."  
Lena smirked, shifting closer to Kara and placing a kiss on her jaw, "Are you sure? Do you need a reminder already?"

* * *

Kara entered Tess' hospital room, stopping in place as she took in Tess. The darting around of her eyes across the television screen, the dark bags present under them, the constant fidgeting of her fingers. Kara gradually crept forward, "Tess?"  
Tess' head slowly turned to meet Kara's face, a small look of surprise crossing her face before a tense look crossed her face, "You came back?"  
"Of course. Did you sleep at all last night?" Kara pushed her glasses up her nose, sitting on the edge of Tess' bed.  
"After they drugged me sure." Tess shrugged.  
"What? They drugged you?" Kara looked even more concerned than she already did.  
"Apparently kicking and screaming in the corridor isn't acceptable on this earth. Who knew." Tess paused, looking Kara up and down, "I was scared that you wouldn't come back."  
"Tess like I said of course I was coming back." Kara tried to reassure her.  
Tess shook her head, "Not like that. I thought…I thought he would hurt you and Alex."  
"You know that Alex and I can protect ourselves Tess."  
Tess gave Kara a pointed look, "I haven't forgotten Kara."  
Kara's jaw dropped slightly agape as she realised what she'd said, kicking herself for rubbing it in once more.

Tess was the first to speak again, "I want my powers back Kara."  
Kara sighed, "I know Tess but we don't know if this is just temporary or-"  
Tess interrupted, giving Kara a firm look, "I feel like a part of me is missing and everything hurts and I just want them back. But my powers have played a part in the deaths of _billions_ of people. I've killed my family _twice._ All my powers have _ever_ done is hurt people. But I still want them back. How selfish, and _heartless,_ and _cruel_ , does that make me? I have so much blood on my hands and yet all I can think of is getting my powers back somehow. I am _not_ a good person. I don't even deserve to be _alive_ after everything I've done, let alone with you and Alex in my life. I wish you'd just let me die back there because I just want to die so I don't have to think about it anymore. But at the same time I want to be alive so badly. My head is a mess Kara and I don't know which thought is yelling more loudly. I don't know. I just know I don't deserve you in my life. You are too good and too important to waste time on me. I don't want to push you away but every fibre of my being is screaming at me and telling me I don't deserve you caring about _me_."

Kara's heart sunk, "Tess…all of those deaths you talk about weren't caused by you. Every time that something like that has happened it hasn't been your choice. Up until now you've never had the freedom to make your life what you want. You've been controlled for so long that you think it's who you are. But it's not. You didn't ask to be given your powers. You didn't ask to be experimented on. You didn't ask to be kidnapped. You didn't ask for any of these bad things to happen to you. I'm so sorry that I didn't get there before yet another horrible decision was made for you, but it wasn't your choice to kill anyone. So I want you to scream back at the voice inside your head telling you that you're not meant to be here. Because I'm here and I'm telling you that you deserve to be here. One more night in hospital and then you get to come home. You said you didn't know how to be a kid but I was serious when I said we'd help you be one. I love you Tess." Kara cupped Tess' face in her hands, leaning forward and placing a kiss on her forehead before holding her close.

* * *

Eventually visiting hours were finishing and Kara stood up to leave, only for Tess' voice to quietly speak up behind her.  
"Kara?"  
Kara stopped in her tracks, looking back at Tess, "Yeah?"  
Tess paused, fidgeting with her hands, "Do you have to go?"  
Kara came back, sitting back down and taking hold of Tess' hands, "I can stay longer if you need."  
"I…I don't think I can fall asleep if I'm alone again. I'm too scared." Tess whispered, embarrassed to admit it.  
Kara's expression softened, looking over the bed and then at Tess, "Shuffle over."  
Tess slowly moved across, being careful to be slow enough that she didn't cause shooting pains.  
Kara slipped her shoes off, shooting off a text to Alex saying that she was off Supergirl duty tonight. She waited for Tess to move across enough before climbing onto the bed, carefully positioning herself next to Tess.  
Tess instantly snuggled into her, her head resting on Kara's chest so that she could hear her heartbeat.  
Kara placed a gentle kiss on Tess' forehead, "Is this okay?"  
Tess nodded, "As long as the nurses don't kick you out."  
Kara chuckled, "They can try."

A little smile tugged at Tess' lips before she looked up at Kara, "Is Lena alright now?"  
Kara ran her hands gently through Tess' hair as she looked down at her, "She's getting there."  
"Does she get nightmares too?" Tess asked quietly, looking back down before closing her eyes and gripping Kara tighter.  
"I don't know. Not that I noticed." Kara admitted, wondering if Tess had noticed the change in their relationship.  
"Is that where you were last night? With Lena?" Tess sleepily asked, feeling calmer than she had in days listening to Kara's steady heartbeat, even if it had just sped up.  
Kara blushed a deep red, grateful that Tess was already half-asleep as she traced gentle circles on her back, "Something like that."  
"I love you Kara."  
Kara finally relaxed, feeling like it had been forever since she'd heard Tess say those words. Even if she was almost certain Tess was practically asleep she didn't care. It meant the world to her all over again. She carefully tilted her head down, kissing the top of Tess' head and taking in the moment, "I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! All feedback is appreciated!  
> Come yell at me on tumblr - onceuponasuperfanfic


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